The Legacy of Ash Ketchum
by YaBoySteven
Summary: It has been many years since Ash saved the world, became a Pokemon Master, and married the woman of his dreams. Ash now lives with his growing family, hoping he can be the father for his children that he never had. However, when this peace is threatened by an old enemy, Ash must band together with a team of strong trainers to stop Team Rocket and Cipher from committing evil.
1. Prologue Part 1

The Legacy of Ash Ketchum

Our story begins with Ash Ketchum, the young Trainer who had won the Kalos League, a feat of which a select few gained, but due to his hard work and training with Pikachu and his other Pokémon, Ash made his dream a reality.

And after finally defeating Alain, stopping Team Flare from committing their diabolical plans, and saving the world once again, Ash was awaiting the moment Serena left him and went to Hoenn to train to be a better performer.

"Well, I'm off!" She said, her body moving towards the escalator leading to her flight terminal, where she shared her emotions. "The moments we shared together, I will cherish she said to her group of friends.

"Pika Pika." Said the electric mouse Pokémon, wishing his friend the best in her journey.

"Serena, be sure to call us! Someday I might even visit you in Hoenn!" Bonnie said in her usual cheery voice.

As her friend said this, Serena hummed her approval, her teary eyed smile showing vividly.

"Ash, I'm really glad I got to travel with you. You are my goal." Serena said with a sudden boldness in her tone, the words resonating in Ash's mind. 'You are my goal.' the words echoed in the boy's mind. He always enjoyed the company of his friends, but Serena was incredibly special. The bond the two shared over their time in Kalos together was close, if not intimate. Ash harbored feelings for the girl, yet he as the person he was knew not how to address or express them to her. The feeling in his gut tugged at him while the only expression her could make on the surface was him gapping, his head leaning backwards from the shock of her confession.

"You'll see. The next time we'll meet, I'll be a much more attractive woman." Serena said to the boy, her boldness still holding as she gave him a wink. "Yeah!" Ash said, his shock from her initial remark disappearing. "Well, I'm off then!" Serena stated, turning her back towards the others as she made her way down the escalator with Ash stepping forward more that the rest of his group to see her off with his own eyes. As she went further downward. Serena, with a feeling of bittersweetness in her heart could not leave things off the way she did. With every last bit of courage she could summon, she looked back up towards Ash.

"Ash! There's one other thing I want to say!" Serena called to him. Visibly perplexed by what she meant, Ash stoop there, waiting for Serena to say what she had in mind. Just as he stood there, he watched Serena slowly make her way up the escalator, her face now meeting his. As she got closer to him, Ash's eyes and mouth widened, his pupils dilated and his face slightly blushed.

As he realized what was about to happen, his mind suddenly stopping from the feeling he had. It was a pleasant and wonderful feeling, something he'd never experience anywhere else before. The girl he'd admired for so long planted the most heavenly kiss upon his mouth. The moment was as exhilarating as it was brief, as the escalator carried the girl away, her face red as a tomato.

"Thank you!" she simply said to Ash, his face almost as red as her's. His eyes were sparkling in awe, his mouth still parted from the experience. The boy continued to stare off into space, relishing the moment he had with her, and just then, something went off in his brain. He realized what he needed to do, rushing down the escalator as she turned to leave.

"Serena, wait!" Ash shouted, catching up to the girl, grabbing her arm gently to get her attention. "Ash, wait what are you-" Serena began to ask her crush.

"Serena, I'm such a fool! I've had all these thoughts in my head, yet I've never known how to act on them. I don't know if I was scared of what these meant for me and you, but now I know." Ash said, completely flustered and embarrassed by his words.

"What do you mean?" Serena asked him, her blushing face still as red as it was before. "Serena, I love you!" Ash spouted, making Serena's face somehow even redder than it was before.

Ash realized he was embarrassing his sweetheart, and quickly tried to rephrase himself. "I…ju-just look. I've never been one to realize love that people have for each other. Before we met, I always thought that if two people loved each other, they would do so like they'd love pizza." Ash said, hoping his analogy didn't sail over her head.

"What I mean is that you've always been kind, sweet and caring for me. Even when I was at my lowest and yelled at you, you still supported me to the end. I've always tried to support all my friends in their dreams, but with you, I sensed something different. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to give you all of my devoting, I want to stay by you and ensure your dream comes to fruition. I just want to be with you." Ash finally said, hoping his speech would make it through to her without sounding desperate.

After he finished, it took a while for Serena to get over his love sick confession, her face still flush with red, half from embarrassment and half from sheer excitement. As Serena began to calm down, she took Ash's hands into her own. "So long as we know that we both know we are ready for each other, that's enough for me." Serena said meekly through her pure delight.

"But I don't think we're meant to be, not yet anyways." Serena said. Noticing how Ash's face grew somber, hoping her words didn't strike him like a cold dagger in the back. To ensure that he didn't feel like he was being rejected, it was now Serena's turn to clarify. "Like I said upstairs, I want to be the best possible woman I can be for you, even if that means setting aside your love just for a moment, so we can be together forever in the end." Serena said, hoping Ash could accept to wait for her.

"But Serena, you're already the perfect person for me." Ash said, desperate to keep his beloved from leaving.

"A very special trainer once told me to never give up and always strive to be better." Serena said, making sure he understood that "special trainer" was him. "If I want to be with you, then I must be better than perfect, because a person as amazing as you are deserves nothing less." she added with a smile, her hands now cupping Ash's cheeks.

The two stood there for a moment, looking into each others eyes for the last time until they met again many years later. Just before she left however, Serena shared one last kiss with Ash, a movement now fully reciprocated, Ash now finally accepting his feelings for the one he loved. The boy then stood helplessly as his sweetheart departed from his view to catch her plane, vowing in his mind that he'd train to be an even better man for her.

**8 Years Later**

"Ash, honey. Wake up, you've overslept again." Delia said, barging into Ash's room. Even as a teenager, Ash still slept in, like the day he became a Pokemon trainer and received his very first Pokemon and best friend Pikachu. "Ok Mom…" Ash yawned. Ash stepped out of bed to get ready for the day. Today wasn't an ordinary day though, for Ash had spent many months planning a party he'd host for all his old friends at Oak's ranch. He planned to use this party to finally fulfill a promise he made to someone.

Walking over to his dresser to grab a small, yet special box he'd then put in his pocket, Ash then began to look at his decorations. Littered throughout his bedroom desk, dresser and wardrobe were trinkets, gym badge classes, frontier symbols and league trophies from all his hard work over the years. He'd become a trainer of unfathomable strength and intellect, but he wondered if that would be enough to prove that he'd be perfect for _her._

"Come on Pikachu, let's get to Oak's early. We don't want our other friends to feel unimportant before the party starts." Ash said calling to his best friend and partner over all those years. "Pika!" the electric Pokemon cried in joy, hopping onto his friend's shoulder.

As Ash ran to the door, his mother protested that the teen ate breakfast first before anything. Begrudgingly taking his mother's advice to to his excitement, Ash grabbed a quick bite to eat then bolted for the door, grabbing some toast and apples for the road for him and his Pikachu to share as they ran. Ash and his pal then ran down the dirt road to the Professor's ranch, ignorant of a shadowy figure spying on him from the distance.

"Target confirmed, shall I pursue? Yes sir. You'll tell the Boss then? Very well, I shall maintain position." the figure said, the person who he spoke to having his voice garbled by the radio he had.

**Meanwhile in a Secure and Unknown Location**

"Sir, we have confirmed that the trainer known as Ash Ketchum is now in motion. We're studying his pattern right now, shall we capture him now?" a scrawny man with grey hair in a pearl white suit simply marked with a letter "R" asked to a man in a chair. The man remained hidden in the shadows resting comfortably in his chair, the Persian in his lap being the only visible thing about him.

"No need for that, we move forward with the final plan tonight. We will not rush things and ruin everything, Archer." the man in the chair replied firmly yet calmly with a deadly and sinister voice. "I've been keeping an eye on this boy for years now. If we jump the gun now, our strategy is foiled. We must rely on the boy's ignorance of our plans if we are to succeed." the man said, resolved to keep his course of action. "We've had multiple spies say that wherever the Legendary Pokemon Ho-oh goes, this boy seems to be there. If there is any connection between the two, I shall exploit it." the man said, standing from his chair to reveal it to be none other than Giovanni, head of Team Rocket, former gym leader of Viridian City, and all around committer of several atrocities worldwide.

"I will capture this boy, and with him as bait, I will force the great beast to submit. When that happens, the unfathomable power of Ho-oh will belong to Team rocket!" Giovanni said, his fist gestured at the air to rally the legion of grunts in the room.

"For the glory of Team Rocket!" the grunts shouted, matching Giovanni's pose in unison. "You three, ready the men. We'll be taking the machine with us." Giovanni said, turning to a group of three people, one magenta haired woman, another blue haired man and a Meowth to accompany them.

"Yes sir!" Jessie, James and Meowth said in unison. Their dedication to Team Rocket's goals in other regions had won them the respect of their Boss so much that he'd given them promotions to lead his special unit, a promotion which the three once incompetent losers took without hesitation. "Finally, that twerp is finally gonna get taught a lesson!" Jessie said. "If we pull this off right, Giovanni will reward us beyond measure for sure." James added. "And we'll get that twerp's Pikachu while we're at it." the Scratch Cat said, finishing the thoughts of what the other two surely thought.

As the trio grew giddy over their perceived victory even before the plan had yet to be executed, Giovanni simply starred at a camera feed of Ash, one that was being taken unbeknownst to Ash by a bird Pokemon circling above him.

"Soon, my young trainer. You will see how pointless and useless your existence is to me. After I capture Ho-oh, I will dispose of you for good. Mark my words." Giovanni said to himself, fully intending on making good on his threat.


	2. Prologue Part 2

Ash had finally made the long jog to Professor Oak's Ranch, his Pikachu resting firmly on his shoulders. "Professor Oak, I'm here!" Ash called into the lobby.

"Oh hello there, Ash." the elderly professor called, making his way around the corner, with Ash's Muk in tow. "Hey Muk, it's good to see you again." Ash said, reaching to hug the massive slime monster only for it to tackle him in joy.

"That's Muk for you." Oak chuckled as Ash peeled the poison type Pokemon off of his body. "So Professor, are the rest of my Pokemon outside? "Of course they are. In fact, I had Bulbasaur gather them all to meet in the back." the elderly gentlemen said, smiling at Ash's usual vigor and passion for his Pokemon.

"Come on guys, let's go say hi!" Ash said, running off to the backyard with his two Pokemon in tow. "Oh Ash, just to let you know, some of your friends have already called and will be here in a few hours!" Oak called to the teenager. "Sure thing Oak, tell me when they show up!" Ash replied, calling out to the professor as he shut the back door in a hurry.

As Ash ran to the open field, he paused for a moment, wondering where his friends were. All of the sudden, he heard rumbling in the ground, looking up to see a mob of all his past Pokemon, from all the Regions he explored. "Guys!" Ash said, running to his Pokemon, only for them all to tackle him in affection, causing a big dog pile.

This moment was short lived though as Ash's Snorlax was just catching up, only for it to attempt to body slam the whole pile. Everyone panicked and got off Ash, Ash just side stepping in time to avoid the large Pokemon

"Ahh…It's good to see you again too snorlax" Ash said, his voice shaking from how close a call was made. After a while, Snorlax realized that Ash wasn't below him, getting up and sitting down. Ash simply laughed, almost unfazed by the affectionate attack he was almost a part of.

"Guys, today's the day. I'm inviting everyone of my other friends over to a party. When that happens, I'm gonna ask a very important question to someone on the porch. I'd like you to be there when that happens." Ash said, smiling as he pulled out the black box from his pocket, only to keep its contents hidden, for he wanted the right moment to show everyone what lay inside.

As his Pokemon nodded in approval, wishing their trainer the best of luck, Ash changed the subject. "Hey so until they show up, how about we train together?" Ash asked his Pokemon, a idea that excited them all.

Time seemed to fly by as this happened, as it was already 3 in the afternoon by the time the first guests arrived. "So, this is what you were doing? Hardly a welcome for your old friends." a snide, yet familiar voice spoke out. Ash turned to see who spoke, only to see it was Misty. Brock and Tracey were there as well, the latter having his hand wrapped around the red head's own.

"Hey guys, its nice to see you." Ash said to the guys of the group. "Even you." Ash said, retuning her derogatory tone. Ash and Misty, while they were still close, grew distant over time. After Ash returned home, he spoke wildly about Serena being his sweet heart, those words stabbing Misty like a dagger in the heart.

For a while the red head had her own crush on Ash, yet she was never able to show it off, only pushing Ash away during their travels. The two off course remained friends, but whatever romantic life they could have had was thrown out the window years ago. After a while, she ended up dating Tracey, and after getting to know him more, became attached. To ensure no awkward air hung around the group, Ash changed subjects.

"I hope you guys enjoy the party. My Mom and I saved up a ton of money to pay of the party food." Ash said encouraging his guests to eat.

"Did someone say food?" a familiar female's voice shouted. Just as Ash turned towards the voice, Ash's old friends May and Max ran up to him. "Oh, it's so good to see you Ash." May said, giving the teen a hug of appreciation. "Yeah, it was nice of you to throw this little party here for us." Max added, a clear sense of maturity showing in him. Ash almost immediately noticed in the younger boy's tone that he grew up.

"I guess since you guys are here does that mean others are up front?" Ash asked. "Yep, in fact Oak was just talking to Dawn and two other people I don't recognize." May affirmed.

Ash then rushed into the lab, hoping to greet the new trio. As he went to the front door, Ash bumped into someone, making them both crash to the floor. "Hey watch where you're going!" Iris shouted at him. "Sorry, my bad Iris. I was hoping to greet you guys at the door." Ash said apologetically. "And that gives you the right knock me over?! Years have past, and you're still just a little kid." Iris said, her harsh words almost provoking an argument.

Just as Ash was about to stand and protest, a familiar green haired man held out his hand to him, helping him off the floor. "Thanks Cilan." Ash said, thanking the connoisseur for the polite gesture. "Please forgive Iris, she's been a little moody since the bus ride here." Cilan said, apologizing for the snappy girl's attitude.

"You don't have to apologize for me, Cilan. I can only just hope this party will help me get over my bad trip here." Iris said disrespectfully. She was never the most polite or patient person, that much was sure, but something seemed to make her even more snappy than usual, and Ash didn't think a simple bus trip would cause such and issue.

Leaving the situation be, Ash then greeted Dawn, a nice and simple, yet reciprocated hello exchanged between the two. As Ash saw Dawn off the the dining room, Oak called out to the teenage boy for his attention.

"Hey, it looks like more of your friends are here, my boy!" the elderly and said as a cab pulled up. As the door opened, a now older Clemont and Bonnie exited the vehicle, the latter of the two rushing up to the front door while the other dawdled behind, hoping not to embarrass himself due to his out of shape, awkward running he always did.

"Hey Ash, it's nice to see you again!" the blonde girl said, giving Ash a high five as a welcoming. "Nice to see you too Bonnie, I hope you enjoy the party." Ash replied.

"Yeah, me and Dendenne are gonna eat tons!" Bonnie said, with her partner Pokemon popping out of her handbag in response to his name. "Dene?" the little Antenna Pokemon said, only for it to jump out of the bag and onto Bonnie's shoulder, greeting his old pal Pikachu with a quick exchange of electric talking.

"Hey Ash how have you been?" Clemont said, simply grabbing Ash's hand to shake it. "Oh, I've been fine man." Ash said, slightly stepping out the door and out of earshot from the Professor who was still at the front. "I'm really not fine, I'm freaking out. I've been waiting in anticipation for her to come, but I keep going over it in my head, and I don't know if I'll screw it all up." Ash said, a heated panic in his voice, telling Clemont about his question, only for him to be cut off.

As it would seem, another person in the vehicle too was nervous, as it took her a while to step out of the car she and the Lumiose twin rode in. Upon mustering up the courage to step forth, Ash blushed in awe.

It was Serena, dressed in a full red party dress, clearly overdressing for the occasion as everyone else wore casual clothes. Her hair had grown out slightly, now meeting just her shoulder area. Her face full of life and energy, even when she never wore makeup unlike the other girls. Ash continued to stare completely dumbfounded at her beauty, totally at a loss of words to say.

Serena took notice of this, nervously approaching Ash without making eye contact, looking down and away in embarrassment. Before the two knew it, they were face to face, Serena finally looking up with her sparkling blue eyes.

Still captivated by her beauty, it took Ash a while to muster up any words with confidence. "H-hey there…" Ash said meekly, simply happy to be in the girl's presence again.

"Hey…" she replied back, now looking at him with more confidence. After a while, the two finally began to feel more accustomed to each other, taking in the vision of the person they loved when Delia finally spoke up to fill the awkward air.

"Alright everyone, dinner's done! Come and get it!" Ash's mother shouted. As Ash heard this, he turned back to Serena. "Care to join me up there?" he said with more confidence, extending his hand for her to take.

"Sure." Serena answered, placing her soft and beautiful hand inside Ash's own gingerly. Before the two went inside, Ash could simply not hold it back any longer. He turned to Serena quickly, planting a kiss right on her mouth.

Taken back initially by the motion, Serena blushed madly. After a moment, she simply returned the kiss, closing her eyes in joy and placing the hand that wasn't in his upon his face, gently feeling him as they embraced each other.

Breaking off from the kiss Ash so boldly gave her, Serena spoke up. "Thanks, I think we needed that." she said, putting her body against his in a hug. "Yeah, I think we did." Ash said, glad that he could muster up the courage at all. He then retuned the honey blonde's hug and then guided her into the Lab.

A long line of food was decorating some tables butting up against the wall while the main table the party goers sat at was smack in the middle of the room.

After grabbing their food, Ash and Serena sat down next together, with Ash pulling out the chair for his sweetheart. "Thanks Ash." she said sitting down. As the two and the rest of the people dug in, conversation was struck up. Ash talked to Brock about his progress on becoming a Pokemon doctor, Clemont and Cilan realized that they were both Ash's friends, Misty stared at Serena in contempt, and all around most of the people had a good time.

After the meal, the sky was finally going dark, the dusky sky now beginning to be lit up by stars. Ash took Serena by the hand and led her out the the back deck, hoping he could ask her the most important question he ever had for her. "I hope you enjoyed dinner. I helped my Mom do a lot of the prep work for it couple days ago. Hope my own cooking wasn't too bad." Ash said nervously, hoping to transition better into his question.

"No, it was fine Ash. I loved it!" Serena said happily. The two stood close to each other, the bodies pressing up on each other as the placed their hands on the porch banister, looking up at the night sky in bewilderment. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Serena asked her friend.

"Not as beautiful as you." Ash said, now hoping to move towards his all important question. Blushing at his remark, Serena asked him "What do you mean?" holding her hair in embarrassment. "You kept your promise. You really did become an amazing woman." Ash answered, turning to the girl and caressing her cheek with his back hand. Blushing even more at his actions, she buried her face in his toned chest, blushing even more at how it felt to be against his body.

"You've always been beautiful though." Ash continued, the girl, now looking up from his friend's chest, her beautiful blue eyes staring at him in curiosity. "Oh god, she's so cute!" Ash thought to himself, hoping he didn't lose concentration for long.

"It's just that you're a beautiful woman. You have such great qualities. Your love for Pokemon, your dedication to your goal. Even your commitment to me. What did I ever do to deserve meeting someone as patient and caring as you?" Ash asked, Serena blushing from the compliments he gave her.

"You were always there when I needed help. It only makes sense I be there for you." Serena said nervously, hoping she didn't seem too meek for him. As this conversation was going, both of Ash's Pokemon and human friends looked on from a distance, feeling the passionate tension between the couple.

"You said that one day, when you strove to be better for me, we could be together. Well, I've been doing my best to be better man for you too. I was hoping to ask if that time was now." Ash said, beginning to pull the black box out from his pocket.

Serena began blushing madly, now realizing what he was about to do. Noticing that Ash began to take a knee, the audience of Pokemon and people watched on with excited pauses for breath, thinking Ash would say what they thought he would. Ash then began to say the four magical words, the words that would change their lives forever. "Serena, will you m-" Ash began to say, only to sense a large object was flying at him at incredible speeds. "Get down!" Ash shouted, grabbing her and running as fast as he could as a large boulder smashed into the porch, exploding on impact.

Shrapnel flung from the projectile's body, digging into Ash's back as he tried to get his lover away from the attack. Realizing that his body luckily shielded Serena, Ash grunted in pain, with everyone in the background shouted Ash's name in concern. As everyone turned towards the direction the rock came from, everyone gasped in horror to see a massive airship flying above them, its cloaking device deactivating to reveal itself intentionally. While it was so high up that none of the people could see who specifically attacked them, Greninja used his impressive eye sight to view the assailant. It was a Rhyperior and a man in a black suit standing next to him!

"Good, now we got his attention. Keep slinging your Rock Wrecker until that boy decides to take action. And do as much damage as you please, the more the better." Giovanni directed to his Pokemon upon the catwalk of the ship. Turning to his assistants, Giovanni issued a simple command. "Archer, Jessie, James, Mewoth; that boy went out of his way to protect that girl. If our attempts to capture him directly fail, take the girl instead. She'll make fine bait should we need it."

"Of course sir." Archer and the trio answered, signaling their troops to prepare for attack. As this happened, Greninja and Pikachu, as well as all the other observers then ran to Ash, checking up on him with Ash's other Pokemon keeping their eye on the ship, repelling any attacks that came from above.

With Serena still pinned under him, the boy got up, his back bleeding from the stray rocks imbedded mere centimeters from his spine. He lucked out to say the least. "Serena, are you ok?" Ash asked her through grunts of pain. "Yes…" Serena said, beginning to take notice of the injury that was inflicted upon him. "Oh no! What have I done?!" she said, instantly taking the blame for her loved one's injuries, even though it was something beyond her control.

"No, Serena don't blame yourself. I did that to protect you." Ash said, getting up with difficulty. As Brock and Clemont rushed over and hoisted one of Ash's arms over one of their shoulders, Team Rocket continued its assault on the Ranch. Several grunts equipped with jet packs flew down to the ground, throwing poke balls up into the air to reveal their own Pokemon.

Panic and chaos then surrounded Ash's group of people as most of Ash's Pokemon sprang into action, fending off the attacking group from doing any more damage to their friends and home. Soon after, most of Ash's friends joined the fray, calling out their own Pokemon to assist Ash's own.

Ash was then left with only his Greninja and Pikachu by his side, with Clemont, his mother, Oak and Serena being the only people left who didn't join the battle. "Come on my boy, we need to get you out of here." Oak said, worrying about the injuries the teen sustained.

Still bleeding from the attack, Ash shook his head. "No, these are my friends, my Pokemon, my home. I'll be damned to let these guys do more than they already have." Ash said, still weak from the attack.

"Greninja, we need to power up, your strength is needed here." Ash said. "Gren." the Ninja Frog Pokemon said in response. With all the strength he had, Ash and Greninja bonded, forming Ash Greninja, Ash's most powerful Pokemon yet.

Just as Greninja began to lead into action, Archer jumped in front of the group, calling out a Houndoom and an Alakazam from the Poke balls on his belt. Before Greninja could react in time, he was side swiped by another Pokemon, Giovanni's own Garchomp had joined up to assist Archer in his capture.

While Greninja was distracted, Houndoom sprang into action, pouncing on Clemont with a huge amount of force. Slamming Clemont to the ground, the hell fire Pokemon began to prepare to smother the young blonde teen in flames. Before that, Pikachu sprang into action, slamming the devilish canine with a strong iron tail.

"Pikachu, Professor, Mom protect Clemont! Don't worry about me!" Ash shouted to his friends and family. As they rushed off to help the electric gym leader, Archer spoke up in a condescending tone. "Oh he should very much worry for you, boy." the Rocket admin sneered. "After all, you're our target. How about you surrender without a fuss and we'll leave this pathetic Ranch alone." the grey haired officer offered, fully intent on a double cross later.

Seeing though the weak lie issued to him, the black haired teenager spoke up. "Even if I'd thought you'd honor that deal, I still wouldn't take it. I know how you people work, you'll just come back and kidnap all the Pokemon here anyways." Ash said, coughing through his injuries. "If you know us so well, perhaps you'll hear another proposition." Archer replied, looking towards his Alakazam. Without a moment of reprieve, the psychic Pokemon fired a shadow ball at Ash, only to be countered by a water shuriken.

Greninja had enough time to break off from his own fight to save Ash, their bond phenomenon allowing them to share all their senses and speak into each other's minds. With one hand free, Greninja then formed a blade out water and called out to Ash. Throwing the dagger made of water towards his trainer, Ash caught it, preparing to go on the offensive.

"Spare yourself the trouble, boy. If you don't, I'll see to it that this little backwater town of your's burns to the ground." Archer jeered, provoking the black haired boy. Enraged by the threat, Ash began to charge at Archer, the blade positioned for a deadly blow.

Ash's movement was stopped however, as he was subdued by Alakazam's psychic powers. Unable to move and being crushed by the telekinesis, all Ash could do was scream in pain. Seeing the love of her life was in complete agony, Serena called out her own Pokemon then began to charge at the Rocket admin herself.

Cursing herself for her weakness as a trainer, she rushed to Ash's aide, hoping she could do something, even if it meant little. While Alakazam was distracted by Serena's Pokemon, the girl herself charged the admin, her claws poised to scratch his eyes out.

Her attempt was in vain however, as Alakazam easily repelled her weak Pokemon while Archer simply dodged her feeble attempt at harming him, sliding his leg under her's and sweeping her off her feet. "Alright Alakazam, let's go bring his back to the boss." Archer began to say, as a bolt of lighting and a water shuriken collided with the distracted psychic Pokemon. Upon being hit by the attacks, Alakazam dropped its focus, releasing Ash from his hold.

Archer turned to see who dared to defy his might, only to see that Pikachu had beaten his Houndoom while a double team copy of Greninja joined his trainer's side. Upon regrouping to support Ash, Archer grew angry, his short temper reaching its limit. As he reached for the still reeling body of Ash, Serena stepped before him, blocking his path.

With an glare of malice in his eyes, Archer didn't even hesitate to hold himself back, striking the side of Serena's face with the back of his fist. "You dare try to get in my way girl?!" the admin yelled, grabbing the girl by her chin while she lay on the ground.

Without warning, Serena opened her mouth and chomped down on the grey haired man's hand. Screaming from the pain he was in, he tried to shake the girl off, only for her to hold tight, a desperate tactic to protect the man she loved being the only thought running through her mind.

After she began to draw blood, Archer had enough of her struggle. With a swift kick to her gut, Serena went down, releasing him from her hold. Seeing the woman he cared for the most getting abused, Ash looked at the admin with pure rage in his eyes. As the boy tried to get up however, he fell over, still in pain from being crushed by Alakazam's attack.

Archer continued to kick Serena until her yipes of pain could barely be heard, the pain being so much that she was losing the ability to see properly. Archer then fell back to his plan B, picking up the barely conscious Serena by her hair, tears running down her bruised face. She felt like screaming from the pain, but the barrage of kicks to her made her feel as if her lung collapsed.

"You leave her alone, you bastard!" Ash said, finally getting up with Pikachu and Greninja finally standing by his side. "Only you can do that boy. Follow me up to our little airship and submit yourself. If you don't, the girl dies." Archer threatened, only making Ash's blood continue to boil with rage. Sensing his trainer was about to do something reckless, the Greninja copy held his trainer back. As this happened, Archer called Alakazam over, commanding it to teleport them back to the airship bridge.

With the pair now gone and Serena with them, Ash collapsed to the ground, wondering how he'd be able to save the love of his life. As the conflict continued to rage on in the background, Ash's mind remained preoccupied on one thought. When he realized that he wasn't strong enough to protect her, he began sobbing tears of sorrow: tears that soon transitioned into rage, rage directed at both the awful Rocket admin and himself. He swore he'd save Serena and make sure every single one of those Team rocket bastards paid for what they did.

"Greninja, call Charizard and Noivern over here. We're gonna fly up to that airship and settle this." the boy then said, working out a plan as the Greninja clone ran off. "I promise you Serena, I'll save you." Ash said, resolve filling his mind.


	3. Prologue Part 3

With the Greninja copy calling for support, Ash telepathically called the real Greninja back with the battle bond. Upon being commanded, Greninja jammed the opposing Garchomp in the throat with a swift uppercut from Aerial Ace, causing Garchomp to drop from the blow.

"Gren." Greninja simply said, joining Ash as Noivern and Charizard made their way to Ash. Hopping on the back of the Flame Pokemon, Ash turned to Oak, his Mother and Clemont, the three of whom were worried about what would happen next. Still determined as ever, Ash then looked to Pikachu. "Hey buddy, I need you to watch Mom and Oak for me. Can you do that?" Ash asked the yellow mouse. "Pika!" Pikachu replied, promising his best friend that he'd keep the others safe.

"All right Greninja, let's go." Ash said, the ninja frog Pokemon nodding and jumping onto Noivern's back. With that, the group of four flew off to save Serena. This move wouldn't be met without a counter however, as several rocket grunts still aboard the ship threw out dozens of flying Pokemon.

With the sky now swarming in opposition, Ash moved to a offensive strategy. "Noivern, blast through them with a max power Boomburst!" Ash shouted. Noivern shook its head in approval.

As the horde began to descend onto the group, the Sound Wave Pokemon began to launch a wave of hyper sonic soundwaves, a frequency so strong that it produced a shockwave effect, dispersing the horde in an instant. With their forces scattered, the way now mostly cleared out.

As Ash Greninja repelled any stragglers or pursuers with its Water Shuriken, Ash's team reached a hanger port in the air ship. Beginning to land and prepare for attack, Ash hopped off of his Charizard, tackling the first Rocket grunt he saw. As more of the villainous team's Pokemon were called out, Greninja jumped off of Noivern, using Double Team to create clones to counter the sheer number of attacking grunt Pokemon.

The fight in the room was short lived luckily, as most Rocket Grunts prefer Pokemon quantity over quality, their weak Pokemon being subdued by the smaller, yet better trained team. Wasting no time and with his patience run thin, Ash took the Rocket Grunt he'd pinned down earlier, dragged him over to the exit of the aircraft and held him by the scruff of his uniform, the delinquent by a hand's release away from falling to his demise.

"Tell me where I can find your Boss and Serena or I'll drop you!" Ash threatened the grunt. Disregarding Ash, the grunt called the bluff, taunted Ash. "Oh yeah right, like little Mr. goodie two shoes Ash Ketchum will harm anyone." the man said, Ash realizing he would get nothing from him. "Fine, have it your way." Ash said, letting loose his hand, the grunt falling to his death screaming. Before he could fall far however, Greninja used his long tongue to grab the man by the arm, pulling him back up.

His life still flashing before his eyes, the Rocket Grunt was in a panic as Ash warned him a second time. "Tell me what I want to know, now! There won't be a second time." Ash said, his words now having meaning to the grunt, still frozen in fear. "Hurry, his tongue getting tired." Ash added on, hoping to scared the grunt into submission.

"He's right there, you crazy bastard!" the grunt said in a fluster, his shaky arm pointing furiously at the end of the hanger. As Greninja pulled the grunt back inside, with him running off in fear, Ash turned to see none other than Giovanni himself standing in the darkness. "Don't bother hiding Giovanni, with Greninja's eyes, I can see almost anything." Ash said with fury.

With the hanger now being illuminated by giant industrial lights, Giovanni stepped forth, a badly damaged and barely conscious Serena. As Ash noticed Archer and the old Team Rocket grunts he spent half his life fighting, Ash looked back to Serena, both in horror and in rage.

He had noticed that the dress she wore to the party was torn at some places, tears that weren't present when she was taken. "What have you done to her!?" Ash yelled in anger, charging the mob boss in blind fury. Before his punch could connect with his face however, Giovanni's Rhyperior stepped in his path, Ash's momentum halting almost instantly.

Ash lucked out, for if he had continued his punch, he'd have broken his hand upon the beast instantly. "Well my boy, we've done nothing to the girl. Not what you're thinking anyways." Giovanni said, knowing full well what made Ash think that. In fact, the mob Boss intended the girl to look like she was defiled in order to stir his emotions up even more. Counting on Ash determination to save the girl he held hostage to secure his plan's success, Giovanni issued Ash an ultimatum.

"Listen boy, I have your friend in my hands now. Do as I say, and the girl shall be spared." Giovanni callously sneered. "If you so much as step without my permission, she will suffer."

Knowing that Giovanni wasn't the kind of man to hold up his end of the deal, Ash hesitated, not sure of what he could do, what angle he could work with in order to stop Giovanni and save Serena. At the moment, the Mob Boss held all the cards in his hand.

Realizing he was out of options, Ash submitted, groaning as he said. "Alright. You win. What do you want from me?"

At seeing and hearing Ash giving up, Serena struggled in her captor's grasp. "Ash, don't do it! You know he won't keep his promise." Serena weakly cried out, not wanting Ash to suffer anymore because of her.

"Keep out of this!" Archer yelled, slapping the teenager again, provoking Ash once more, only for Giovanni to stay his admin's hand.

"What I want is for you to submit to us. We've studied you over the years. Everytime you're seen, the Legendary Pokemon, Ho-Oh, has been spotted somewhere near you." Giovanni said.

"I've never been a superstitious man, but it doesn't take a genius to notice a connection. Now be a good boy and summon Ho-oh for us, and we will release the girl." Giovanni continued, issuing his demands to the boy.

"Ho-Oh? I have no idea what you're talking about! I've only seen that Pokemon a few times, never have I met it, no less had any control over it!" Ash protested, realizing the request given him was impossible for him to perform.

"Seems he's stalling. Perhaps the Twerp needs some convincing, Boss." Jessie said, taunting Ash in the process.

"Yes…" Giovanni agreed, walking with Serena in his clutches, only for Rhyperior to continue to guard its Trainer from Ash as he tried to make his way around the beast.

Giovanni then led the honey blonde teenage to an emergency escape door, which he kicked open and caused the howling winds of the sky around them to fill the vehicle. Just as Ash did with his own grunt, Giovanni held Serena out the door, her body barely being held by his one hand.

"Serena!" Ash cried out, his concern for her increasing drastically.

"Calm down, Twerp. You'll get the girl, but you do what the Boss says." Meowth said, plunging his claws into the ship to keep from being sucked out himself.

"I won't ask another time." Giovanni said with a death glare issued to the boy, while Greninja made a small motion for his shuriken, which Giovanni failed to notice as he was preoccupied with his Trainer.

Greninja then threw the object, only for him, Charizard, and Noivern to be outflanked as Giovanni's Garchomp returned, blocking the attack for Giovanni and bringing backup that consisted of Giovanni's Gliscor and Golem. With Ash's Pokemon now all preoccupied with Giovanni's own handpicked team, Ash was out of options. He had to stall.

"Ok! Ok, I'll do as you ask, now please let her go." Ash pleaded.

"Good decision. Now follow me, boy." Archer said, having the trio of former goofballs and him escort him to the top of the vessel, Serena still in Giovanni's clutches, but far away from being thrown out of the vehicle.

The group led Ash out the a balcony for the ship, the night sky now booming with a thunderstorm. As serval lightning bolts struck the sides of the ship, Ash thought of a desperate plan.

"Greninja, I need you to get Charizard and Noivern out of here. Go back to Pikachu and have him siphon off energy from the storm, then have him strike the ship. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Ash said, speaking telepathically to his friend.

Without hesitation, Greninja broke off his attacker, masking his escape as well as Charizard's and Noivern's with a horde of Double Team clones. As the trio of Pokemon took off back to the lab, Ash put his side of the plan into action.

"Alright, for me to successfully summon Ho-Oh, I need a few items." Ash began to say, buying some time. "First, I will need some Sacred Ash. I will also need some... gold dust, and uh..." Ash began to ramble, hoping he wouldn't be seen through too soon.

"Bring him the Sacred Ash." Giovanni ordered, waving Jessie, James and Meowth off. Ash's heart sunk, he didn't know they had something that specific. No point in going back now, if they saw through his ruse, Serena was as good as dead.

Returning with the large jar of Sacred Ash, Giovanni turned back to Ash. "Here's what we have for you, now perform the ritual, or else." He said, giving a deadly look back to his hostage.

"Well, like I said, I need some gold dust..." Ash began to say, trying to stall further.

"Don't tempt me, boy! I'll drop her the second I see you screwing me!" Giovanni threatened, leading Serena's half limp body to the edge of the aircraft walkway, leading her to over a 200 foot downward drop.

"No, wait!" Ash shouted. He was at the end of his rope and couldn't see a way out of the situation.

But all of the sudden, part of the sky cleared up, where a large gap appeared in the rain, amazing all to see it was Ho-Oh. Ash never intended summoned him, nor did even think he could. Giovanni looked onward at amazement, believing that Ash had listened to his demands, Ash used this opportunity to play the situation off.

"Ok Giovanni, I did as you asked, now put her down." Ash said, pleading for Serena's life.

"A deal's a deal boy. Here, I'll leave it up to you to catch her." Giovanni laughed, dropping Serena from the edge of the aircraft, causing the blonde to cry out as she was thrown out the ship and headed downward, the sight caused Ash's heart to sink.

But acting fast, Ash ran with all his speed towards Serena's falling body, jumping off the aircraft without hesitation. As he adjusted his body to go faster, he managed to catch up to Serena, where he then brought her close to his body.

Though Ash had caught her, they were still falling at incredibly fast speeds. Just as Ash was afraid he'd crash into the cold ground, he was caught by a psychic move.

"Good job Psyduck, now put them down gently." Misty said, arriving just in time to save her old friend.

"Psy!" Psyduck cried, putting all its concentration into lowering the couple down gently with its Confusion attack.

"Thank you Misty. I owe you one." Ash said, out of breath from the free fall he was in.

"Two." Misty replied, smiling as she reminded him. "You still owe me a bike."

While Ash put up a small smile at Misty's words, knowing she had put the bike behind her, Ash then put is attention on Serena, who was now completely unconscious.

"Serena, can you hear me?! Serena? Serena!" Ash said, begging for the love of his life to wake up, where Ash continued to try and stir Serena from her comatose state, Ho-Oh had its attention turned to Giovanni.

"Ah, the magnificent Ho-Oh. How long have I waited for this moment." The mob boss said with a wicked grin on his face.

"Field grunts, pull back and stand by for Ho-Oh's capture!" The man then said over a headpiece, causing all his grunts to fly back up to his airship, where Giovanni commenced the capturing process.

"Fire the capture beam when ready!" Giovanni then commanded.

As the command was given, the wings on the airship fired out massive beams of energy, the device forming a cage of electricity around Ho-Oh. Upon this incursion, the Legendary Pokemon tried to break free, only to be repelled by the electric walls of the cage.

As the Phoenix Pokemon cried out in pain and rage, Giovanni smiled.

"Yes! Now I have a Pokemon that can give life itself. As long as I have Ho-Oh, I will be immortal!" The man cried out with a maniacal voice, cackling at his assumed victory.

Just as he did this, the lightning patterns in the sky were changing. Bolts of rolling thunder moved symmetrically, as it was being controlled. Giovanni realized that something was wrong and tried to clear the deck of the bridge.

But it was too late for him, for Pikachu had already gone through with the plan Greninja gave to him, using his power Thunder attack in unison with the stormy sky for devastating results.

Suddenly, multiple bolts of lightning were called from the sky, striking the airship's broadside, instantly destroying it's left engine and wings. Noticing that it was being rescued, Ho-Oh smashed through the weakened cage it was in, springing towards the aircraft with rage in its mind.

The massive bird took its great talons, sinking them into the vessel with ease.

And like a knife through butter, Ho-Oh ripped the steel to ribbons, it's massive figure out of control and veering towards the ocean off of Pallet Town. Giovanni stared at the enraged beast, not in fear, but with maliciousness, as if the creature was meant serve him, and defying him was unimaginable.

Before the man could curse at the Legendary Pokemon however, he and everyone else in the airship were hit with a massive Sacred Fire attack. As Ash friends looked towards where Ho-Oh carried the vessel off to exploded, where smoke and embers being seen for miles.

Ho-Oh returned to the group, hoping to thank its saviors. This kind of happy celebration was brought to a swift close however, as Ash was still trying to wake the sleeping Serena from her coma, but to no avail, he tried giving her CPR, pressing his hands down on her chest, trying to feel her pulse, everything he could do to save her.

Her body was getting weaker and weaker by the moment, her collapsed lung impending what little breathing she was already doing. But even that had ceased.

As Ash began to feel as if the worst had happened, he broke into tears.

Sensing his dismay, his Pokemon and friends looked on in sorrow, some comforting each other or trying to comfort Ash, but to no avail. As this happened, Ho-Oh approached the somber teenage, nudging him with his beak gently.

Ash was curious at what the Pokemon was trying to tell him, but upon remembering old tales said about Ho-Oh, he backed off, allowing the Legendary to do its duty. The large Pokemon lifted one of its massive rainbow colored wings, placing it over Serena's body gingerly.

Closing its eyes, Ho-Oh's body began to glow, surrounding the female's broken body with its Sacred Ash. Removing itself from the area, a moment passed by. Just as Ash began to question what even happened, Serena's eyes opened, her chest filling with air upon her gasp.

"Serena!" Ash called happily, tears flowing from his eyes, hugging the girl instantly with joy in his heart, which confused Serana a little, remembering falling from the plane before everything faded to black, but she was glad to be in Ash's embrace.

"Oww..." Serena then let out, still feeling some residual pain, only to hug Ash back regardless.

"I thought… I thought I..." Ash said with pauses of happiness in his tone.

"I thought I lost you." Serena said, now placing a hand gently on Ash's cheek.

As the onlookers watched on in joy, Ho-Oh took it upon itself to leave the scene. While it did so, everyone but Ash and Serena looked to it as it left, still keeping themselves locked in each other's eyes.

"I never got to say what I wanted to say because of all that." Ash began to say, reaching back into his pocket. "But I guess it will have to wait." He said sadly, realizing that the ring he intended to give to Serena was gone, most likely smashed by that initial attack or lost somewhere upon the ruined area of Pallet Town.

"Why wait silly? I already have an answer. It's yes, yes, a hundred times yes!" Serena said simply. "I don't need to get some silly ring from you to know you love me!" She then added on with joy.

"Serena..." Ash said with tears of joy still flowing down his cheeks, which Serena cupped and smiled back.

"Ash…" Serena said back, her cheeks flush with joy.

There was a brief moment where the two simply stared into each other's eyes. But as the storm cleared, the pair drew closer closing their eyes as the two then gently locked lips, the group of people and Pokemon alike cheering in joy for their friends.

**A Few Day Later**

It was now a beautiful day in Pallet Town. The sky was clear and the bird Pokemon were singing and chirping joyfully, where Ash woke up to a brand new day, except this time it was different. He had no intention of sleeping in, not now, for this time he got up, got dressed into a fancy suit, something he never cared for wearing, knowing this day was an exception.

As he walked out the door, his mother and Mimey stopped him once more.

"Ash honey, you can't be seen going out like that! Here, let me straighten that." Delia said, fixing Ash's suit tie and collar, her motherly side taking over as she straightened up Ash's clothing, embarrassing him a little, but he knew it came from love.

"Now go and knock 'em dead." She said, giving her son some words of encouragement, while Mimey nodded, wishing Ash the best of luck, before the group traveled back to Oak's lab. Just before they reached the front door, Delia and Mimey broke off from Ash's side to go to where everyone else was gathered, while Ash simply went to the front door, only to meet Professor Oak.

"Well my boy, today's the big day. I remember when it was my time out there, I always remember feeling nervous about it, but don't worry, you'll do fine." The elderly man said, patting Ash's shoulder for reassurance.

"Thanks, Professor." Ash said, glad that one of his role models was playing such a big role in today's event.

"Oh if only your Father were here..." Oak began to say wistfully, only to consider the topic a touchy subject with the boy.

"It's fine, Professor. I really didn't see much of my dad anyways." Ash said, noticing Oak's nervousness at the topic he brought up.

"Well all right then. I'll just be in the back making the final preparations." Oak said.

"Alright then." Ash said, sighing in nervousness as the old man left. He felt butterflies in his stomach, his mind going back and forth about the moment that would change his life forever, but knew he had to push past his worries for the greater good.

A few moments passed by, but for Ash, it felt like a millennium. Just as the tension was reaching its boiling point, a door opened at the end of the lab, where Serena stepped in, leaving Ash in awe at her appearance, for she had pulled out all the stops for the event, wearing a luxurious and seemingly expensive white dress that went down to her feet, while a set of white gloves covered her arms and a beautiful pearl necklace decorated her neck.

Ash smiled at her as she approached his side, filled with newfound confidence in himself.

"Ash, you look so handsome." Serena commented, before having to ask. "How do I look?"

"Like an angel." Ash said in reply, caressing her cheek with his hand, making Serena blush at Ash's honesty.

Before the two could strike up any more conversation, the two back doors opened, the bright light of the sun coming through, where the two passed through the double doors to be met by a group of people and Pokemon, the two types set in different opposing rows and columns, with a center line for the couple to walk through.

As Ash and Serena walked through the lane, faces of approval and pride were given to them, an occasional clap or thumbs up reaching them as well. The two then came to the end of the lane, a podium with Professor Oak behind it to greet them.

'Well this is it. This is the day I become a man, and it's all thanks to you, Serena.' Ash thought to himself, looking at Serena with a continued and devoted smile.

The ceremonies carried on, starting as Professor Oak giving his best at being the couple's sermon. As the two finished exchanging their vows, Professor Oak called up the ring bearer and flower girl, which were none other than Pikachu and Serena's Sylveon, the two making their way down the aisle, with Pikachu dressed in a tiny tux as he carried a small pillow with a set of gold rings on it, while Sylveon had been cast in a beautiful gown, carrying a basket full of petals in her mouth and using her feeler-like appendages to reach into the basket and toss the petals around the area.

Ash then took a moment to look around the yard that the ceremony was being held in. Giving one last look to his friends looking on in happiness, his mother taking video footage of every moment that passed, and his best man, Brock, who gave him his nod of approval. After a last few small glances, Professor Oak spoke the all important words to seal the deal.

"Serena, do you take Ash here to be your lawfully wedded husband, now and forever, till death do you part?" He asked the teenage girl.

"I do." Serena said with joy.

"And Ash, do you take Serena here to be your lawfully wedded wife, now and forever, till death do you part?" Oak asked, turning his head to the boy.

"I do." Ash said, looking at Serena with a continued love in his eyes.

"Then it is within my power to deem this couple to be married. You may now kiss the bride." Oak said.

Without pause, Ash leaned in gently, kissing his newly wedded wife, an action that was reciprocated without issue from Serena.

As the crowd applauded the couple, Ash and Serena locked hands, giving each other a loving stare. This happiness in their lives would soon be compromised someday, for a new evil power was rising somewhere else in the world.

**Somewhere in the Orre Region**

"Yep, there's no doubt about it sir. This is Giovanni. I heard of stories about him from the cargo shippers. He's a man of great ambition." A gravelly and mysterious voice said to another over a earpiece.

"Oh, but what would an oh-so big shot Kanto crime ring boss like him be doing in a god forsaken region like this? I want answers." The other man said in return, his voice garbled by a voice changer.

"Yes sir, I shall have the peon's bring him and his injured friends here to the tower." the gravelly voice spoke out.

"Giovanni, huh? We may have use for a guy as malicious as him…" the second voice said, his mind thinking of how best to work the situation.

Little did Ash know that in time, he and his family, as well as the entire Pokemon world would face its greatest adversary yet.


	4. A Peaceful Life Disturbed

"Ahhh!" Giovanni suddenly gasped, waking from his coma. "Where am I, what is going on, who's there?!" The mob boss questioned, back to back questions being demanded at the man who was standing in front of him.

Slowly but surely, Giovanni came to realize he was placed inside a tank of a strange liquid, his mouth covered by a breathing mask to ensure his subdued body didn't drown or suffocate.

"Well well, I was beginning to think we'd lost you for a second." A gravelly, yet oddly soft voice said to him, just before stepping more into the blue light of the hospital room, the man revealed himself.

He was a very tall man, a long dark blue bodysuit covered his body. As Giovanni looked up, her noticed the man's eyes. They were sinister and commanded, as if he could stare down anything into submission. Beyond the man's blue eyes, Giovanni noticed his silvery white serpentine hair, his locks standing out on their ends like the hairs on one's arms if they had goosebumps. Despite the man's intimidating presence, Giovanni remained unfazed, demanding things he shouldn't regardless of his predicament.

"Who are you and what is this place?! I demand to know where I am!" Giovanni commanded, the tall man remaining unfazed by his borderline threats.

"I am Nascour, Chief Executive of the Cipher Foundation. My men and I found you and a bunch of people bearing a sigil that matched the one on your suit adrift at sea. You were marooned and waterlogged, and were badly burned to boot. We had to take swift action to save you. Tell us what happened to you." Nascour demanded in reply, Giovanni staring off into thought.

He remembered faintly the events that transpired. He remembered being attacked by Ho-Oh, his body caught ablaze by its intense heat. He remembered his ship exploding, then he remembered how he grabbed the nearest piece of floating debris and let it take him where it went before passing out from the pain that filled his entire being.

Just as he remembered the Legendary Pokemon had attacked him, the searing pain from the attack came back to him. As Giovanni writhed around in his tank in pain, Nascour nodded to one of the scientists accompanying him, where they began to administer a pain killer, but Giovanni continued the struggle in his tank.

"Hold on Giovanni, we need you to tell us what you know. What was the all so important Team Rocket Leader doing on the shores of Orre?" The tall man asked.

"Orre? I've never heard of such a Region." Giovanni said, his pain subsiding and allowing him to focus on those observing him.

"Oh, we've made it quite a secret for sure. It's only thanks to past events in the world that made our Region so isolated. But you'll find out about that within time." Nascour said in reply, grinning deviously as he offered. "For the meantime, might I present a proposition to you?"

Interested deeply about what the man had in mind, yet knew he'd intended to work an angle on this newfound potential ally, Giovanni finally spoke up. "What do you have in mind?" The mob boss asked.

"My group, Cipher, is the leading governing body in Orre. We control the populace and the Pokemon without issue and we use our Shadow Project technology to ensure we remain in power. But we only have so much tools at our disposal, and that's where you come in. Being a man of great ambitions as yourself, surely you'd find our desire to control Pokemon to suit your goals as well?" Nascour continued to say.

"What is your point?" Giovanni asked bluntly.

"My group is currently working on a top secret project, Project XD. I will not give you the specifics unless you intend to take this offer, but I must know one thing first. The burns that you suffered destroyed the entire left half of your body completely. There's very few Pokemon who can do such acute, yet so devastating of damage to a body and not have it recover. What did this to you?" Nascour asked.

"It was Ho-Oh!" Giovanni yelled from his tank. "That accursed Pokemon did this to me! I had it at the tip of my hands until a thorn in my side got in my way!" The man continued to yell viciously, his rage and hatred consuming him.

"Hmm, the mighty phoenix Ho-Oh, huh?" Nascour pondered to himself, considering the power of the Legendary Pokemon his group needed.

"This will interest us greatly. Giovanni my offer is this: Join your group with Cipher. Together we can capture many Pokemon, bring people to their knees and make all our enemies suffer for what they've done to us!" Nascour passionately began to speak.

"My group's technological advancements are second to none. I will provide you cybernetic replacements for your destroyed body and will give continued treatment to your men. In return you will pool what resources you have with us, and you will give us intel on any rare Pokemon you were currently pursuing." The tall man finished, his sales pitch just about over.

"And if I refuse?" Giovanni asked boldly, not one to negotiate or take orders from another man.

"We really have no need to keep you or your men around otherwise. I think you'd understand your fate if you took that option." The man then said, his threat not falling on deaf ears.

With a mischievous grin on his face, Giovanni accepted the deal, giving a simple nod to show his agreement. "It's a deal." The mob boss said in succession.

"Hmm, good. However, you will need time to heal the rest of your body. For time being, you shall remain there. Once you are healed, we will process you and your men. Welcome to Cipher." Nascour said, walking out a set of double doors and leaving Giovanni with the doctors.

As the tall man left the room, he took out a phone, contacting someone. "Sir, Giovanni has agreed to your demands." Nascour informed.

"Good, then all is coming according to plan. We must wait a while to mobilize and train him and his men. But in time, we shall accomplish our grand plan." The static voice rang back to the Chief Executive, knowing that though it would take time, their plans would come into fruition.

**Ten Years Later **

It was another nice starting day in Pallet Town.

The bird Pokemon were chirping, the sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky.

But despite this, it was 10 o'clock in the morning and a certain Pokemon Trainer had forgotten to set his alarm yet again.

"Dad! Come on Dad, wake up!" A little girl happily cheered, bouncing up and down on the bed, where Ash remained still, waking up to the honey blonde girl, but feigning he was still asleep.

"Dad, are you up?" The girl continued asking, sounding very excited.

"Ah, I got you!" Ash said, turning around quickly, picking the girl up in his arms and shaking her gently in a playful manner, making her face light up.

"Yay, Dad's up!" The girl continued to say in a cheery tone. "Let me go tell Mom."

"Sure. You go ahead, just let me get dressed first." Ash said, glad his daughter had woke him, while also pleased with what the day held for his family, for today was a big day for Ash and his son, he was going to ask a favor of his friend and former rival, Gary Oak, who now took over Professor Oak's duties at the lab, hoping he could get a starter Pokemon for his child a little early than normal.

His son had graduated at the top of almost all his classes, topping all his peers in the knowledge of Pokemon, thanks to the lessons Ash and Serena had taught him, where Ash believed his son was more than deserving of getting a starter a few months before his tenth birthday.

After getting dressed in his usual leisurely attire: a pair of dark grey cargo pants to match his navy blue shirt, both made courtesy of his loving wife, Ash went downstairs to greet the rest of the family.

"Leaf Ketchum, don't let me catch you running in the house again, you might hurt yourself!" A heavenly, yet stern voice then called out through the hallway. "And how's my beautiful wife doing today?" Ash then asked, following her voice from the bedroom upstairs and to the kitchen on the ground floor.

"Oh, I'm doing just fine sleepyhead." Serena replied, lovingly teasing her husband for his bad habit, before she then asked. "Hey could I ask you to get out the orange juice? I'm making us some brunch."

"Sure thing, honey." Ash said in a continued loving reply, grabbing the juice from the refrigerator just aside from the stove Serena was preparing the family meal on.

Giving his wife a quick peck on the cheek, Ash then shut the fridge door, examining all the old pictures he and his family took over the years. Him standing at Serena's hospital bed holding their twin children, playing with their kids in their cribs, the time they brought the kids to see their Grandma Grace in Kalos as toddlers, and then them playing in the back of their house in Pallet Town with Pikachu and Braixen. Between those photos and all the memories in between, Ash smiled nostalgically.

"They grow up so fast, don't they?" Ash asked his wife, wrapping an arm around her, holding Serena close and planting yet another kiss on her cheek.

"They sure do, but we grew up fast too, remember? It only feels like yesterday since we got news that we had twins." Serena added wistfully, her mind in sync with her husband's.

"Remember how my Mom was absolutely sure we couldn't pull off having kids as early as we did?" The honey blonde woman then asked, which made Ash chuckle.

"Hey, we may have been young, but that just means we still have enough youth in us to keep an eye on our two rascals." Ash replied jokingly.

The two of them decided to have kids with each other almost immediately after they got married. Serena's mom always thought that their hormones were driving them, but in the end, they managed to keep everything on track. Almost.

"Hey Dad." The voice of a boy then said to his father as he lumbered into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Red." Ash said with a continued warmth, placing a cup of juice on the table, before reaching for his morning coffee.

"So, you gonna go off and spend the whole day at that crumby Battle Pyramid like always?" Red questioned dejectedly, sounding quite bitter toward his father.

"Actually, we are going to go off to pick your first Pokemon, isn't that exciting?" Ash asked in a hyped tone, hoping he could give his son the motivation he needed for the day.

"I guess so..." Red said, his interest being captured but still not all there.

Sensing some tension between the two, Serena finally spoke up.

"Hey everyone, breakfast is ready! Come get it while it's still hot!" She said happily, hoping her tone cleared the air.

"Coming!" Leaf said, running back into the house from the backyard, where Ash's Pikachu and Serena's Braixen and Sylveon followed in tow, all looking forward to another of Serena's lovingly prepared meals.

Chowing down on the eggs and toast Serena made, Ash decided to strike up conversation with Red.

"You know, when I first became a Pokemon trainer, I slept in, quite like how I just did today." Ash said, trying to get his son to crack a smile.

With Red simply humming at his father's attempt at humor, Ash continued to make conversation.

"So which starter do you think you'll want to pick?" Ash asked, looking at Pikachu and smiling. "It's important you make a bond with the Pokemon you choose, so you can have a long and great friendship with them."

"It's a secret until we get there." Red replied. He may be acting rude to his father now, but deep down, he was just glad he'd get to spend time with him.

After Brandon retired from being a Frontier Brain of Kanto, Ash took up his position, making himself part of the Battle Frontier. After Ash took up the job a few years back, he was only able to spend so much time with his family given his job, even if the Battle Pyramid could transform into a mobile aircraft and land anywhere, its current and lasting position was now in Pallet Town.

Ash's position there, both as a well renowned hero and League Champion already gave the quiet countryside town a lot more foot traffic than normal, but even more people came when they heard that one of the Frontier complexes was now stationed in the town until further notice.

Ash may have always been busy with work, but today was different though. Ash put his work off to ensure that his family knew that he loved them.

As Ash and Red finished their breakfast, thanking Serena for her kindness along the way, Ash and his son then went off to see Gary Oak at the lab.

"So, you're still not going to tell me who you're gonna pick?" Ash said, looking down at his son.

"Nope, you'll have to wait and see." Red said bluntly, continuing to look forward without making eye contact with his father, where the two then made it to the lab, ringing the front door and were greeted by Ash's old childhood pal and rival, Gary Oak.

"Well hello there, Ash." Gary said, shaking his friend's hand.

"Good to see you again Gary." Ash said, pulling Red closer toward him to transition to their next subject. "We were just gonna stop on by and see what kind of Starter Pokemon Red wanted."

"Is Blue around?" Red asked plainly.

"Actually he's already inside, waiting on you actually." Gary answered with a modest tone.

As Gary led the father and son into the room, they were greeted by Blue, Gary's own son and friend to Red.

Much like Red, Blue beared quite a resemblance to his father. However, unlike Red who had brown hair, Blue was almost like a carbon copy of his father. As luck would have it, Blue was just as successful as Red was in the Pokemon School, matching his friend's scores at a near perfect pace. Blue however paid a lot of attention to Red's father, something Red was curious and unsure about. As the two greeted each other, Ash turned to Gary.

"Say, after these two pick out their Pokemon, I was thinking I'd have them train with me for a while. You're cool with that?" Ash asked.

"Just so long as you don't leave any further than Route 1, I have no issues." Gary said in agreement.

"Alright boys, how are we gonna do this? How will we decide who picks first?" Ash questioned the two.

"Let Red pick first." Blue insisted, pushing Red closer to the table holding the three Poke Balls.

Not really caring whether he was first or last, Red simply hummed in thought at his options.

"I'll take this one." Red said, picking the center most ball after a moment of consideration.

"Ah, Charmander... Difficult to train and control its fire moves, but when you gain mastery over it, there's not much that could stop you." Gary said, his words trying to sound as profound as possible.

"Alright then, my turn. I'll pick this one!" Blue said, rushing to grab to ball on the right.

"Ah, Squirtle. You're thinking like your old man, Blue. Water can be just as constructive as it can be destructive. If you gain control of its powers, you'll have perfect balance." Ash said, adding to Gary's choice of words to his own to sound as intellectual as his friend.

"Now that you guys have your starters, why don't we give them a test run? Come with me you two, We're gonna have a little training session." Ash said, beckoning the two to his side.

As the two children waved goodbye to Gary, the group of three set off for the outskirts of Route 1. Upon making it to their destination, Ash suggested the two new Trainers to call out their Pokemon. As Red opened his ball, an orange blaze of embers burst from it, where Charmander emerged, its eyes now directed at its new Trainer.

"Hello there, Charmander. Nice to meet you." Red said with a hint of happiness, hoping his father didn't pick up too much on his excitement.

"My turn!" Blue said, throwing his ball straight into the air, a Squirtle emerging from it, a watery dew accompanying it.

As Blue caught the Tiny Turtle Pokemon, he stroked his new friend's head, smiling as he did so. Realizing that both Trainers were ready, Ash threw his own ball into the air, calling upon his trusty Greninja to his side. Witnessing the powerful Pokemon with his very own eyes, Blue's jaw dropped in excitement.

"Is that your dad's Greninja?! That's one of, if not his strongest Pokemon ever! Are we really deserving to learn from him?!" Blue asked, geeking out at the prospect of learning under the Pokemon the World revered as a Pokemon of nearly unparalleled strength.

"I figured you boys deserved the best training you could get. With Greninja here, I can teach both of you without issue." Ash said, looking to his Pokemon standing beside him, which caused Greninja to nod, glad to assist Ash however he could.

"And how is he supposed to help me and Charmander?" Red asked sarcastically.

Picking up on his son's rude tone, but wanting to keep the air of the training light, Ash ignored his son's attitude but addressed his question regardless.

"Well Red, it's simply because Greninja is a master of blade related techniques. Its sharp Water Shuriken is a fast and deadly attack that can be used to handle most opponents, working best against Fire-types. Then there is Aerial Ace, where Greninja summons and controls the winds through his arms and legs, a perfect technique for combo moves. Lastly is his piercing Cut attack, which can blow through defenses and deal a great amount of damage if used correctly." The Master Trainer said.

"While I teach Blue about maintaining the power and flow to his Squirtle's Water-type attacks, I'll teach your Charmander how to use Cut. It's a very basic, but effective technique. I should get you to learn by the end of the day." Ash told the pair.

"Cool..!" Blue said in awe at how impressive Ash was at being, able to train the two Trainers two whole separate lessons at once in the same day, while Red simply scoffed at the idea of training under his Dad personally, yet did so regardless. As the day went on, Blue began getting a hand at water control.

"Good job, Blue. Remember, to effectively strike your targets, you must have balance. Spraying water in a torrent may work with some moves, but with Water Gun, accuracy is key." Ash said, watching as Blue commanded his Pokemon to accurately strike multiple targets Ash laid out on the trees around them, setting stones for Squirtle to shoot down.

"Yes sir!" Blue said in affirmation, glad he was receiving advice from one of the best Trainers out there, feeling he was already forming a good bond with his Pokemon.

Meanwhile, Red's Charmander was struggling to form its Cut attack, which Ash noticed and began walking over to the two of them, causing Red and Charmander to feel pressured.

By the time Ash reached them, Charmander's attack gave out, causing the Lizard Pokemon to hit its hand on the log it attempted to chop. Seeing his Pokemon's failure, Red turned to his father in frustration.

"How am I supposed to focus if you keep eyeballing me?!" Red questioned in a flustered tone.

"How are you to learn anything if I'm not present? The whole idea here is to be here to train you." Ash said sternly. "Frankly, I expected more from you."

Just as Red began to protest, he was stopped short by his father.

"You said 'your' focus. What you meant to say is 'we'. Don't forget that to be a great Pokemon Trainer, you must be able to understand your Pokemon and have them understand you. Charmander noticed your frustration and that is why it failed to cut the log. If you are out of rhythm, so is your Pokemon. I learnt that lesson the hard way. Now try again." Ash said, finishing his speech by telling Red to continue his work.

It was no more than five minutes after that talk for Red to get frustrated once more, clearly not taking to heart any of his father's advice.

"Come on, what's taking you so long?!" Red said to his partner, causing Charmander to feel upset again, not wanting to continue to train.

"Hey don't make it Charmander's fault when you're clearly not committing to the lesson!" Ash shouted at his son.

"If it weren't because of your crumby lessons, I would have been able to do this ten times over by now!" Red shouted back at his father, foregoing what little respect her had for him at the moment.

"Stupid Pokemon, why did I even bother with you..." Red said, shoving his distressed and upset Pokemon over, the actions shocking Ash, Blue and his Squirtle.

"Red, what's gotten into you?" Blue asked, wondering why his friend was acting all moody and taking it out on his partner.

After being shoved, Charmander grew angry. As the flame on its tail raised in size and temperature, Red looked in shock, regretting what he just did and instantly regretting it. As the Lizard Pokemon opened its mouth, a small cluster of embers poured from it, launching the attack at Red. Narrowly missing the attack, the fires collided with a part of the forest just a few feet away from the group, where a forest fire started.

"That was an Ember attack, and a mighty strong one at that! Blue quick, help me with the fires!" Ash shouted, fusing mentally with his own partner to form Ash Greninja, before the fire spread. The two Water-type Pokemon then did their work in putting out the fire, with the massive Water Shurikens putting in most of the work, while Blue guided some of the wild Pokemon away from the blaze, making sure none were harmed.

Though the situation was resolved before it became a major issue, Ash turned to his son in anger.

"Never. Do. That. Again." Ash said, looking straight into his son's face while gritting his teeth.

Red felt incredibly guilty by what he did. He just had so much pent up frustration and anger that he let it go out of control. Turning back to his Charmander, he apologized, the Fire-type Pokemon accepting the apology with reluctance. As he watched his son try to make amends, Ash felt a shudder. He was still fused with Greninja at the time, and through his friend's sight, he saw two figures hiding in the shadows from where the forest was set ablaze.

They weren't fully visible, as if a shroud was keeping them hidden, but with Greninja's eyesight, he was able to vaguely make them out. Sensing trouble but not wanting to alert the people he saw, Ash played an act to subtly warn the kids.

"Well boys, I think we should pack it up for the day. I need to explain to the authorities what happened to this part of the forest. Why don't you guys head straight home? I'm sure Leaf and you Mom will be especially happy for you Red." Ash said nervously.

Detecting his slightly intentional awkwardness, Blue and Red looked inquisitively at Ash. Upon looking at his stern face, Red got the idea and realized something serious was about to happen.

"Yeah, let's go home Blue. I want to show off my Pokemon to my sister." Red said, tugging at his friend's shirt.

Not fully picking up on the situation, Blue reluctantly agreed, before the two made their way to the house, first in a walk, then a jog, and as soon at they were out of eye contact, they went into a full on sprint.

"Red, what's going on?!" Blue questioned in confusion as his friend was still dragging him by the shirt, forcing him to run with him.

"My Dad's in trouble, but I know by his look that this was serious." Red said with a hint of concern.

As soon as he felt the two kids were out of harm's way, Ash turned his attention to the two figures still cloaked in shadow. "Come on out now. I could sense your presence for a while now. Why don't you tell me who you are?" Ash called, with his Greninja stepping in front of him for defense.

"How noble of you to send those kids off. They'd have gotten in our way. But don't worry, our friend is making a very special trip to your house to pay that lovely family of yours a visit anyways. I wonder if that child will get there in time." One voice teased him maliciously.

"What?!" Ash let out in a panic, running towards the end of the forest to make it home, only to be stopped by the second figure, who moved at ludicrous speeds.

"Who the hell are you people?!" Ash questioned, losing his composure over the threat against his family's life.

"Who we are is none of your concern. All you need to know is that our Boss will be quite pleased with your capture." The second voice said.

As Ash prepared for battle, the two figures dropped their stealth fields, revealing a white and black battle armor suit, their faces obscured by a helmet with a face guard and black visor. Being handed a liquid knife by Greninja, Ash prepared himself for attack as the two figures who surrounded him pulled out a pair of Poke balls. A fight for Ash's family's life had now begun.

The two strangers released their Pokemon, one being a Scizor and the other being a Weavile, where Ash looked through the shared sight he had with Greninja, he saw a dark aura coming off the Weavile Greninja was facing. Meanwhile Ash felt a tingling sensation in the air, coming from both the Weavile and the Scizor he was viewing.

"Greninja, trade places with me." Ash said, the Ninja Pokemon nodding in approval.

Upon the change up, Ash now saw the same dark purple aura emerging from Scizor from Greninja's point of view.

"Wh-what is that?!" Ash asked in shock.

"Oh, it seems he notices something different about these Pokemon." One of the men said with a dark grin.

"It means nothing if we beat him." The other replied, before commanding. "Weavile, use Ice Shard!"

Following its Trainer's command, Weavile unleashed a horde of shards made of ice, which forced Ash and Greninja to jump into the tree to avoid the attack, only to be chased down by Scizor.

"Good work. Now use Fury Cutter!" The first man commanded, his Pokemon listening to his instruction, its pincers now glowing green.

{Greninja, use Double Team! We need to separate ourselves and split them up. I don't want this fight to drag on!} Ash mentally said to his partner in their shared state of mind to avoid clueing his opponents on his plan.

Doing as his partner asked, Greninja spawned his doppelgangers to run interference.

"How pitiful an attempt to distract us." The second man commented, giving off another order. "Weavile, use Shadow Wave!"

Upon its command, Weavile screamed in pain, its eyes turning purple to match the aura that flared up around it. As this happened, Weavile let loose a wave of dark energy, its impact being noticed immediately as it smashed all the clones and hit the real Greninja and Ash as well.

Crashing into a tree behind them, Ash got up in confusion.

"What move was that?! Ash asked in confusion, never witnessing such a dark technique in past Battles.

"Shadow Blitz, Scizor!" The first man followed up, where his Pokemon screamed in pain as well.

Ash once again noticed its eyes turned a dark purple, and then it rushed at Ash, smashing its hard body into him at max force. Coughing and reeling from the attack, Ash was on his hands and knees, gasping for air.

"Now finish him off! Weavile, Night Slash!" The second man commanded, his Pokemon jumping into the air as its claws glowed with a dark purple light, ready to make a decisive blow.

But before an impact could be made, Greninja jumped to Ash's side with such speed that it was like he came out of nowhere. With a single punch from his Aerial Ace attack, Weavile was down for the count.

"Shit, Weavile's down!" The second man shouted , facing his compatriot and asking. "Are you going to help or not!?"

"Scizor, use Shadow Blitz again!" The first man said in a panic, only for his Pokemon to be rushed down by Greninja, the Ninja Pokemon striking the Bug/Steel type down in a single strike from his giant Water Shuriken he fashioned into a sword.

With the two Pokemon handled, Greninja acted fast, pinning the two Trainers up to trees with his Water Shuriken, where both struggled to escape.

"Leave a Double Team clone here to watch these people. We need to get home fast!" Ash said, running back to his house in a hurry, followed closely by Greninja.

As Ash got over the hill overviewing Pallet Town, he looked in horror to see a field near his house was on fire. Running with his family's life dependant on it, Ash made a beeline to his house. Upon reaching it, he was glad to see it was intact, only to realize it had been abandoned. His heart dropping at the sight, he ran towards the smoke. Upon reaching his destination, he saw his children and Serena, the former of whom was protecting the family by using Pikachu and her Pokemon to fend off someone.

But from the hood, Ash couldn't make the figure out.

"Serena, I'm here! Get the kids out of here!" Ash yelled at his spouse, not wanting to see his family harmed.

Looking back at her approaching husband, Serena nodded in approval, thinking fast and taking the kids and their Pokemon to a safer area. Standing alongside Pikachu and Greninja, Ash fought against the robbed man, his Houndoom and Alakazam standing at the ready for their new opponent.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail! Greninja use Water Shuriken!" Ash shouted, his two Pokemon then charging at their chosen targets.

"Houndoom, use Shadow Fire, Alakazam, use Shadow Wave." The robed man said in a synthetic voice.

As he said this, Houndoom and Alakazam howled in pain, their eyes, like the two before them, glowed with a sinister purple as each attacked.

While Alakazam used the same move Ash saw with Weavile, Houndoom's attack was different.

The Hellfire Pokemon threw a large fireball made of black flames at the heroic trio, but acting fast, Greninja threw a large Water Shuriken to combat the dark flames.

This wasn't enough to put it out fully, as the flames connected with Greninja's skin, which burnt intensely and made Greninja grasp his arm, feeling the inferno stinging at him.

Even though Ash believed that the move would be resisted, his skin felt like it was set ablaze due to the shared pain, its strength unparalleled by other fire attacks he'd been hurt from before.

Reeling from the attack, Greninja was left exposed to Alakazam's subsequent technique.

However just before the attack could connect, Pikachu stopped his charging strike and focused down the wave of energy with a Thunder attack.

Dispersing the wave, the Thunder attack broke through, colliding with Alakazam.

Getting back up on their feet, Ash and Greninja raised their left hands up in the air. Channeling the Battle Bond's latent power into one attack, Greninja's giant Water Shuriken formed into a giant boiling hot orange Water Shuriken.

Throwing the massive disk at his opponent, Ash collapsed to his knees from the damage he sustained, thought still looking up in gratitude that his last attack did its work.

As the Shuriken collided with both Pokemon, a gust of wind and smoked kicked up, covering the hooded man. As Pikachu regrouped with his trainer, Ash looked in horror as the smoke cleared. The resulting shock from the shuriken un masked his family's assailant. It was Archer, only his look was completely different though, for half of his face was covered in cybernetics and his once grey hair was seemingly singed off, a 3rd degree burn mark covering the top of his head.

"You!" Ash said in horror and disgust, beginning to get up, only to collapse in fatigue.

"Miss me? Well I know that my Boss misses you. He wanted me to send you a little message. Come to us in Orre. Face us or we will ensure that your family only knows pain and suffering." Archer said in his new robotic voice.

"Bastard!" Ash said back, using all his strength to get up and charge the man who once harmed his wife.

But before Ash could reach him though, the Rocket Admin gave a few lasting words.

"I'm sure we'll meet again soon." The man's synthetic voice called out as he was teleported away by his Alakazam.

As the fires died down around him, Ash's face had a look of mixed emotions to match the state of his mind. 10 years of peace and then all of the sudden, strange men with even stranger Pokemon come knocking at his door. After getting over his shock and rage, Ash calmed himself. As he walked back to his house in a slight limp, he was greeted by Serena, who hugged him, tears flowing from her face.

"Oh thank Arceus, I was so afraid something would happen to you! Red told us how how you were in trouble in the forest, and then all of the sudden that man came to the house. I tried to get the kids away, but he just kept following us!" Serena said, nudging her face into her husband's chest.

"Where's Blue?" Ash asked in concern.

"He ran off back to the lab. I told him something was going on." Red answered.

"Ok that's good. I don't think he was a target anyways." Ash said. "I think this family is in grave danger."

"Honey, what are we going to do?" Serena asked in worry, beckoning the kids to join in on the hug for their own comfort.

"I don't know, but I'm gonna be asking those guys I fought a few questions. Don't worry, I won't let anyone hurt you again." Ash said to his family.

Reaching for the home phone, Ash dialed in a number, only to be answered by the person he called almost immediately.

"Hey, it's me. Yeah, I need your help. Can you get over to Pallet Town as soon as you can? We need to have a talk." Ash said to the man over the phone.


	5. Seeking Answers

An hour passed after making the phone call, and Ash was getting impatient. As he paced back and forth in the family room of his house, Serena and the children looked up at him from the couch.

"Honey, who exactly did you call?" Serena asked her husband with a worried tone.

"When he shows up, I'll make it a point to introduce you." Ash replied, looking back at his wife with a smile, making her smile back, knowing she could trust Ash completely.

Just as he said this, the doorbell rang, with Ash springing to answer it. The man who was in the doorway was quite an old one. The figure who stood before Ash had a slick, yet stylish hairstyle with a hint of grey in it. His face was wrinkled, but still charming nonetheless, his brown eyes matching the dark brown trench coat and suit he wore with it. The man was none other than Looker, one of Interpol's best agents across the Pokémon world.

"Looker, how's it been?" Ash asked, having a happy, tone with his old friend, only to transition back to his serious issue he called the officer for. "We need to talk."

"Yes, I gathered that from the call, my old friend, but what's all this about? I was just about to file a report at the Viridian Precinct." Looker said, stepping into the household to notice Serena.

"Ah, hello there miss." Looker said kindly, regarding the misses of the house with respect. "My name's Looker. Ash and I used to work together back in the day."

"Nice to meet you, sir." Serena said, bowing her head in shared respect. "I'm Ash's wife and these are our children, my son, Red and our daughter, Leaf." She continued by motioning to the children by her side.

"Nice to meet ya two." Looker said in a cheery tone, only to look back to Ash and say with seriousness. "You didn't call me over for a social meeting, did you?"

"About an hour ago, my family and I were attacked by suspicious individuals. One of those men was Archer, Giovanni's lapdog Admin. If he's back, then something's going on." Ash said, showing Archer to the kitchen table so the two could sit and talk.

"Team Rocket's back? Now?!" Looker asked, his tone now being as serious as could be given the bombshell Ash dropped on him. "Did he say what he wanted?"

"No, but I was attacked by some goons who were in league with him They wore suits with stealth tech I've never seen before. What's worse is their Pokémon were very strange. I'm a Master of Pokémon battles and tactics, yet the moves they used were ones I've never heard of." Ash said, explaining the ordeal to his Cop friend.

"Not to mention they pack a terrible punch, it's as if the attacks are the cause of a darkness inside of them. I looked at them through Greninja's eyes, and I saw a shadowy mist form around them. While I couldn't see it with my own vision, I also felt a dark, tingling presence in the air." He added on.

After Ash explained to Looker how he had restrained the two he fought in the forest, while Archer got away, Looker got up from the table.

"This is troubling news. Take me to these guys and we'll bring them in for interrogation." Looker said, beckoning Ash to follow him as he left out the door and to his jeep.

Turning back to his kids and wife, Ash spoke up to the three.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna make sure nothing happens to you three. I promise." Ash said, bringing the three into a group hug, which Serena and Leaf happily returned, while Red seemed reluctant.

"Take the kids to your mom's place, it isn't safe here." Ash then said to Serena with some command in his voice, which made Serena nod and kiss her husband in approval.

Finishing with his family, Ash faced Pikachu, trusting the mouse Pokémon more than anybody he knew, where he knelt down to Pikachu, set his hand on Pikachu's shoulder and asked. "Pikachu, I'm leaving it up to you to keep them safe. Can I count on you buddy?"

"Pika, Pi!" The yellow mouse called with conviction and determination, which made Ash smile and rub Pikachu's head.

"I know I can count on you, pal." Ash said, giving his friend a fist bump, he turned back to Looker, getting into the car with him.

"Don't worry. I'll have my guys get you whatever you need to be safe!" Looker called to Ash's loved one. "I'll have another interpol officer pick them up. They'll be safe with us."

"Thank you, Looker." Ash said with a smile, before his expression turned serious as he said. "Now, let me show you where these guys were.

After retrieving the unconscious bodies of the mysterious men, alongside the Weavile and Scissor, Looker placed the four in the back, continuing the trip to Viridian City.

"Ever since we got info that Giovanni was the Gym Leader of this city, an Interpol building was erected here to keep an eye out to see if that scumbag would ever return. Unfortunately, we haven't had such luck. What did these guys in the back tell you?" Looker asked his partner.

"Not seemed more focused on harming us than anything, but I heard them mention something about a place called Orre." Ash replied, only to turn and see Looker's face turn grim at the mention of the word.

"Something wrong?" Ash asked his disturbed friend.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." Looker said, staring straight ahead like his mind was laser trained on something.

Noticing something was amiss, yet not about to press the matter further, Ash just nodded and turned his attention back to the unconscious duo in the back seats.

"What could have caused their Pokémon to gain such terrible power? And what if we can't get them to talk?" Ash asked, which made looker smile confidently and say. "Don't worry, one of my best interrogation agents just happens to be in town right now. She'll help us without a doubt.

After the mention of his agent, the group eventually arrived in Viridian City. As Looker pulled the jeep into the Precinct parking lot, Ash and the Cop each grabbed a member of the criminal duo, recalling the Pokémon just in case, before leading the two men inside the building and in a simple room, consisting of a desk, a set of chairs and a two way mirror.

After the two were put into an interrogation chamber, Ash turned to Looker once more.

"So who is this agent you spoke highly of? How much help will she be to us?" The young man asked.

"She is at the top of her skills." Looker replied, smiling as he pointed behind Ash and asked. "Why don't you ask her yourself? She's coming down the hall right now."

From Looker's words, Ash turned only to be met with a familiar face, one who he'd not made contact with in ten years. It was Anabel, former Frontier Brain, turned detective. She donned a black suit and tie, her white shirt being seen as well, while the years had been kind to her, leaving her as a very attractive woman. But loving Serena too much, Ash didn't notice.

As she walked down the hallway, she too was filled with fond memories of the boy who challenged her battle facility a decade ago.

"Ash? Is that you?!" Anabel asked, her excitement in her tone being noted by Ash.

"It's great to see you again. You look amazing." Ash said, giving the psychic woman a a friendly compliment, but keeping it within reason to not lead her on.

"And you look so mature now, so (grown up/handsome)." Anabel replied, unaware of Ash's relationship status, with part of her hoping Ash would ask her out.

"So you two know each other then? Good, saves us time." Looker said, turning his attention to the small room the two suspects were in, looking to see them starting to regain consciousness.

"So what do we know about them so far?" Anabel asked.

"All I know is that they used Pokémon that had dark attacks I never witnessed before. They attacked me and my wife and kids, and are planning for something terrible." Ash said, filling the woman in on what transpired.

"Oh, you're married?" Anabel asked, her voice having a tinge of shock and upset within it, but she tried to keep it hidden.

"More, importantly they hail from Orre." Looker added, bringing Anabel back to the true issue at hand.

"You seem to know what Orre is Looker, can you fill me in?" Ash asked, noticing that Anabel surely would have to have known about Orre too given the context Looker put his words in.

"What you need to know is that it's a Region to the South East of Kanto. That's all I'm at liberty to say to you at this time." Looker replied, his eyes not meeting Ash's once during his statement.

Curious at what exactly was being hidden from him, Ash was about to press the matter, only for Anabel to speak up. "Let me get what I can from their minds. The truth cannot be withheld from me within someone's subconscious."

After Anabel went inside to get the info she needed from the two, Ash looked at Looker. The man stood unfazed at the window into the room. He was like a man on a mission. Whatever past was held in that region, Ash was desperate to know, for his family's safety depended on it. Just as he was about to speak again, Anabel exited the room, already done with extracting the info they desired.

"Well, those guys were kept in the dark. The only info I got out of them was that they're part of a group called Cipher, and they were tasked with hunting down and kidnapping Ash and his family. That's all I could get from them, I'm sorry." Anabel said humbly, still sad over the fact Ash was a married man.

"Orre? Cipher? What are they after, and why do they have such strange Pokémon? Looker, what exactly are you keeping from me?!" Ash practically yelled at his still silent friend, demanding the truth.

"That doesn't concern you now. What does concern you is that we have to stop Giovanni. We know he's connected to the attack against your family. I'll be heading to Orre and settling this myself." Looker said firmly.

"No! This is my family's safety on the line here. If anyone's going, it's me!" Ash shouted.

"Then you'll need backup. I couldn't live with myself if you went in there alone and anything happened to you." Anabel spoke up as she said. "If these Cipher Grunts are as tough as you say, then there's no doubt in my mind that the higher ups will have even greater power at their disposal."

"Anabel!" Looker said, clearly shocked at his partner's agreement with Ash traveling to such a harsh Region.

"It's alright, Looker. I know you are worried, but Ash is tough, he can handle himself." Anabel said, but smiled as she added. "But it doesn't hurt to have a partner or two to tag along."

"Well, if you're going then I am as well." Looker suddenly said. "You don't know anything about this Region, and I intend to keep it that way. Consider me your guide. Either I go with you, or you don't go at all." Looker said, finally caving in.

"Great, but three of us is hardly a team. I need to contact some people and see if they can help us. Give me a moment to do this." Ash then said, which caused Looker to nod, but inform. "We don't have long. Even if we're moving your family, there's no telling if or when a second strike could occur. We need to get this plan going as soon as possible."

"Let me make a few calls." Ash just said, heading off and using one of the interpol phones to make a few calls to a few old friends.

After a few hours of making phone calls and using Interpol tech assets, Ash was able to call up a team worthy and loyal enough to travel into the unknown. Interpol precincts around the world allowed Ash's recruits to teleport to the the Viridian City Interpol Station.

The first one was Alain, one of Ash's friends he made in the Kalos Region and former unknowing assistant to the evil Lysandre, head of Team Flare. Donning his normal clothes, the only addition to Alain's attire was a black tattered cloak to match the black color of his devastatingly powerful Mega Charizard X.

The second was Sawyer, another friend that Ash made in Kalos. Back in the day, Ash was the boy's mentor, but now he'd becoming quite a formidable Trainer. He now worn a dark green suit and dress pants, taking much after his other mentor, Steven Stone in style. Greeting the two upon their entrance, the third member Ash called was none other than Brock, Ash's closest and most longtime human friend.

After introductions were made, Looker sat the group in a briefing room, allowing them to go over the info at hand.

"Listen up, I will be giving you our intel on the task your friend Ash brought you in for. We have not much time, so I'll be brief. We are going to infiltrate a Region by the name of Orre. It is mostly comprised entirely of desert terrain in the center, with only its northern regions being of lush, mountainous territory. We will discuss the method of infiltration later, for what I need to say now is more important. The mod Boss and Leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni, seems to have set up operations in the Region." Looker began to say in the briefing, before adding with a great seriousness in his voice. "With what little he have of intel, the people who attacked Ash and his family appear to possess unnatural Pokémon. I must warn you, this will be dangerous. If you have any inkling of fear, I suggest you back out now."

"Ash is my best friend. If his family is in trouble, then I won't sit back and do nothing." Brock said instantly.

"You've helped me out so much with my skills as a Trainer. I think it's time I paid you back." Sawyer added, refusing to allow Ash's selfless deeds go unpaid.

"You helped me atone for my sins and allowed me to realize that there's more to life than being the strongest. If you need my help now, I would never turn you down." Alain then said, the trio of Trainers now standing, committed to helping their friend.

"So be it." Looker said, wondering how the outcome of this quest would turn out.

"I'm afraid I must inform you to carry no more than three Pokémon on the mission. The Cipher people apparently have the ability to detect the electronic signals Pokeballs give out. Craft a team suitable for the task and when you're ready, please tell us." Anabel added, already having decided on which Pokémon she would bring, while Brock asked. "How on earth can they do that?"

"I'm not sure, but their tech seems to far outpace what we have. We have to be extra cautious." Anabel said in reply.

As everyone began weighing their options for their team members, Ash made a call to Gary at a transfer booth.

"Hey man, I'm gonna need you to send Noivern and Glalie to me. I have to sort out something." Ash said to his old friend, before asking. "And another thing, Blue told you my family and I were in trouble? Please do me a favor and keep my Mom and my Pokémon safe, ok?"

"You can count on me, Ash." Gary said, smiling to Ash through the monitor. "I'll keep an eye on your Mom's place and the Pokémon here. Here's the Pokémon you needed though. Good luck."

After retrieving his two team members, Ash returned to the group. Seeing that everyone was squared away, the team made their way to a transport vehicle.

"So, how exactly are we going to get to this Orre place anyway?" Brock then asked Looker with a fair curiousness.

"I told Ash that he had a stealth vessel we'd use in such cases like this, but Ash insisted we use the Battle Pyramid." Looker said, thinking the idea itself was a bad idea.

"Clemont helped me make a few adjustments to its flying features when I first took up my position as Frontier Brain. The Pyramid can now fly much farther without using up nearly as much fuel as it did before. He also made a stealth field to cloak it in the sky." Ash added to Looker's sentence. "I mean after all, a giant flying pyramid isn't exactly inconspicuous if I needed to travel. It may not be nearly as complex as what those Cipher goons were wearing, but I'm just hoping it will work all the same."

As the group hopped in the transport, Brock broke out a cell phone, punching in a number quickly.

"Hey honey, it's me. Yeah, I left the house unexpected, but a friend of mine needs my help. Hope you understand." Brock said to his apparent lover over the phone. "Don't worry, I'll talk to you later, I just don't know how long I'll be gone. Yeah, catch you later."

As his friend hung up the phone, Ash looked to him and asked. "Was that Lucy?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to tell her that I'm helping you. I left Pewter City as soon as you called me, so I didn't have much time to tell her what's happening." Brock replied.

"Cool." Ash simply said with a smile, patting his friend on the back.

A few years after Ash got married, Brock himself felt lonely. He finally mustered up the courage to ask Lucy out, and the two hit it off without a hitch. They ultimately fell for each other and wanted to start a family. Fortunately for Brock, his child wasn't due for another few months, so he could spare the time to help his old friend, even with his pregnant wife.

After the group inside started to have some banter with Ash introducing the people who hadn't met each other before, the group arrived back in Pallet Town. Driving the vehicle over to the Battle Pyramid, the group went inside the mobile facility, with Ash giving one last look at his home town.

Upon entering the command center, Ash took the helm. Flipping some levers and switches, the outside of the Pyramid converted, each corner popping open to reveal a large set of engines.

"I'm initiating the take off, everyone. Strap yourselves in." Ash called to the group. As the gang got into a set of chairs in the room, Looker fastened a position beside Ash waiting for the take off and gave him the coordinates of their point of infiltration. A moment passed and just like that, the engines fired up. With the Battle Pyramid taking flight, Ash activated its movement propellers.

Heading off into the South East, Ash's group looked out their window to take one last look at Kanto as their departure began to take them overseas.

"Wow, Kanto sure looks pretty from up here." Sawyer said in awe, where he then commented. "I should come here more often."

"Remember, we're on a dire mission here, child. We must ensure that these Cipher fellows and Giovanni are shut down for good." Looker said sternly to the young man, making sure to remind that this was a mission and not a vacation.

"What are you keeping from us, Looker? If you tell us what's going on, we can be better prepared." Ash said, hoping he could finally get some info out of the man.

"All I can say is that these people are dangerous for a reason. Years ago, Orre was a prosperous and nice Region. This was long before you were born." Looker said, looking at Ash, finally caving in a bit to the boy's questions. "All I'll say beyond this is that the people of the Region grew greedy and they had to be closed themselves off from the world."

"What did these people do that was so bad?" Ash asked.

"The trip to Orre will take us a couple of hours, and you've had a busy day. Why don't you show me how to fly this thing while you go and take a rest?" Looker just asked, changing the subject.

"I expect to hear more about this later." Ash said, sensing Looker's hesitancy to talk about the situation, yet agreeing with him that he had grown tired from the day's events.

Ash walked over to the passenger area situated behind the controls to the Pyramid. Resting his eyes from a stressful day, Ash began to fall asleep.

Even though it had been a few hours and the sky was now dark, only being illuminated by the full moon out, Ash woke up again feeling like hardly any time passed at all. After getting up, he noticed the other's were playing a game of cards, with Looker with them for some reason. Looking to see who was at the wheel, Ash noticed Anabel was at the helm, steering the vessel like it was first hand.

"How did you learn how fly this thing?" Ash asked the purple haired woman in his still half asleep tone, who smiled and informed. "Back when I was a Frontier Brain, Brandon let me have a look at this thing once. He even allowed me to fly with it once before. Imagine that."

"Huh... neat." Ash said, looking out the window and then to the pad that listed their coordinates, where he called. "Hey Looker, it seems like we're close to the coordinates you gave us."

"That was quite quick." Looker said in disbelief. "We're not due to show up for another hour or so."

"That's thanks to Clemont too. On top of making the Pyramid more fuel efficient, he super charged this puppy." Ash said with a hint of pride for his inventive friend's craftsmanship.

As he said this, a large silhouette passed by the window, causing Sawyer to jump back in panic.

"Wh... what was that?!" The green haired boy cried out in shock, getting the rest of the group's attention. Before the group could react appropriately, they heard a thud on top of the facility. Something very large and very heavy had now perched itself on the vessel.

"What was that!?" Brock questioned in panic, only for him and the rest of the group to the shaken at the Pyramid wobbled, its front left engine now being engulfed in fire.

"What just happened?" Ash yelled to Sawyer, whose face was pressed against the glass.

"I just saw a massive attack hit the front engine here!" Sawyer called in response, saying this as the second front engine was struck by another attack, before the Pyramid was now plummeting from the sky at alarming speeds.

"We're gonna crash!" Looker called in panic, taking command as he yelled. "Everyone bail!"

"I'm not going to leave my Pyramid behind!" Ash said in protest.

"No, it's fine, I can guide this in for a safer landing. When you guys think it's safe, jump. I'll be fine, I can get out of this. Go!" Anabel shouted to the group.

Only deciding the leave reluctantly, Ash wasted no more time on the matter. Running over to the emergency escape door, Ash opened a cabinet next to it, a set of parachute bags held within.

"Everyone grab one..." Ash began to say, but was cut off, only for a sudden explosion to come from the emergency door.

As the air pressure sucked the five men out of the hole, Anabel stayed fastened in her seat, steering the Pyramid for a crash landing with as little collateral damage as possible.

Calling out his Noivern, Ash was picked up by the Soundwave Pokémon. Seeing that Alain, Sawyer and Looker had their Charizard, Salamence, and Skarmory respectively save their Trainers, Ash's heart sunk to realize Brock was still falling, knowing that while Brock had Crobat, such a Pokémon couldn't support his weight.

"Noivern, catch Brock!" Ash yelled in a hurry, as the Dragon/Flying-type darted downward.

As Noivern reached for Brock's hand with his talons, Ash sighed in relief. The group looked downward to see that a desert beachfront was not too far from their altitude. As the group landed, they looked back up into the sky to see the still burning Battle Pyramid still falling from the sky.

The group looked on in horror to see it crash violently several miles from their location. Sensing the worst happened to their friend, the group we're about to mourn, only for a female's voice to call out to them.

"You guys serious thought I'd stay in that thing?" Anabel said, riding on the back of her flying Metagross.

"We thought you were dead! Don't do that to us again!" Looker said with a serious and stern tone, before hugging his police companion in relief.

"I'm fine, but there was nothing I could do for the Pyramid. Sorry Ash." Anabel said with a somber tone.

"It's fine. Whoever shot us down is the one who's gonna pay." Ash said, comforting the woman with a kind and understanding tone.

"How on earth did that 'thing' see us? I thought Ash put up that stealth field he bragged about!" Alain said in disbelief of the situation.

"I did. I have no idea how we were made instantly." Ash replied to his friend. "Did any of you see what that think was?"

"All I saw was this massive creature that was almost like it was pure shadow. I was barely able to see it as is, let alone make out a clear shape!" Sawyer said through gasps, his mind still unable to comprehend what he saw.

"Well, if it's any consolation, we made it to our destination. Everyone, welcome to Orre." Looker said, looking to see if anyone was around, before saying to Ash and the others. "I suggest we make a camp and rest for now. Come dawn, we can go back to the Pyramid to salvage what we didn't have with us before our hasty exit."

"Yeah, if there's anything left..." Ash said in disgruntlement, clearly upset that the group lost their most reliable ride back home.

As the group began to set up camp on the beach, Sawyer called out his Sceptile to use Frenzy Plant, severing some of the roots with its Leaf Blade. After doing this, Alain called forth his Charizard to burn the roots, lighting their makeshift campfire. While this happened, Ash scouted out the area around them, calling out his Noivern once more to scout out the night sky to ensure no other surprises came across them.

After riding atop the Dragon/Flying-type, Ash realized that the info Looker gave them was true, where a massive desert expanded as far as the eye could see, with only a single concrete road going West and East in view. After looking around some more, Ash saw a City to the East and a large, jutting Tower North East. With his scouting done, Ash returned to the group to relay the info.

"Hey everyone, there seems to be a City to the East of us. After we salvage what we can from the Pyramid, I suggest we go there." Ash said, getting no objections from his comrades.

"Sound's good to me." Alain said simply.

"You're the boss here." Sawyer added.

"I think that's a sound plan." Anabel said with a smile, before she asked. "What do you think, Looker?"

"Sure." Looker said plainly, keeping his eyes to the North to ensure the group didn't happen upon some trouble.

**Meanwhile**

"Yes sir, it seems that XD001 shot down that aircraft as per your command. Shall we investigate the wreckage?" A Cipher grunt said to a man over his handheld radio, spectating the wreckage from a distance with a pair of binoculars.

"Go ahead. Nascour will be quite pleased if we bring back the boy that Giovanni fellow told us about. Hehe, I'm quite glad the Shadow Project is so effective, even in its testing stages." The man said through the radio in a mischievous cackle.

"By your orders, Sir Ein." The Cipher grunt said, as he and the other grunts with him hopped aboard a set of hover bikes and made their way to the crash site.


	6. Odd Encounters And Dark Truths

After resting for a few hours, Ash and crew finally mounted up the strength and resolve to go to the crash site. Calling out their Pokémon with the ability of flight, the group flew into the direction of the Pyramid, wondering if any of their belongings survived the crash. As they approached their destination, they were shocked to see the vessel was mostly intact, despite how it crashed into the side of a massive mountain.

"How on earth did it remain so salvageable?" Alain asked atop his Charizard.

"Heh, I actually had Clemont also modify the hull. Not only is it lightweight, it is also incredibly durable. Think he said it was made of titanium plating or something." Ash said gloatingly of his friend's craftsmanship, despite how he never bothered to remember the actual process of how it was remodeled.

As the group landed, all noticed a set of strange vehicles. They had but a single wheel on the back of them and the front seemed to hover. Behind the odd vehicles was a floating skiff seemingly held aloft by nothing.

And before anyone could approach the strange transports, a group of Cipher grunts emerged from the wreckage.

"This was a massive haul boys, let's bring it back to base." One grunt proclaimed as he hauls a massive chest of contents looted from Ash's flying fortress.

"I don't know, I just found a bunch of old junk and pictures. Don't know what the Boss wants with this crap, but oh well." Another grunt said in discontent, holding up an old photo of Ash's family with his Mother-in-law, Grace.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ash asked, charging at the grunts who now took notice of the group.

"Oh crap, they survived! I knew it! Let's bail!" One grunt said, taking his haul of goods with him to the floating skiff, with two other grunts hopping on their hover bikes.

"I don't think so, Noivern stop them with Boomburst!" Ash commanded, where Noivern released a sonic blast from his ears, firing at full power against the grunts.

But before the attack could connect however, the move was intercepted by another grunt's Pokémon.

Standing on the defensive was a Politoed, whose Hyper Voice attack negated the other sound based move.

Turning to the grunt who got in his way, he realized that a second grunt stood alongside him, calling out a Granbull to assist its teammate.

"Granbull, use Play Rough!" The second grunt commanded, his Pokémon following his orders and jumping to strike Noivern.

"Skarmory, Steel Wing!" Looker called to his own Pokémon, where its wings glowed with a silver light, ready to strike the Granbull down.

As Skarmory intercepted the charging Fairy-type, dealing a fair amount of damage due to its nature advantage, Noivern flew up and dive bombed the opposing Politoed.

"Noivern, Acrobatics!" Ash shouted to his Pokémon, its body glowing a sky blue hue as it shot toward the Water-type, where Politoed was then sent reeling back, getting further punishment when its teammate collided with it after Skarmory knocked it back.

The two grunts realizing they stalled long enough for the rest of their cohorts to get away then made a break for their own bikes, only for Alain's Charizard and Anabel's Metagross to prevent their escape.

As the grunts slowly were being surrounded, they prepared to surrender until a purple and black hole appeared behind them, where a tall figure in a dark blue combat suit and long, silver hair that stood on end then emerged from the portal.

The man simply looked at his grunts, and then at the party of heroes attacking his underlings.

Ash looked to his side to see Looker in a state of shock, his legs quivering and his eyes filled with fear.

"I see that you took our visit to your house quite seriously, Ash Ketchum. Giovanni's told me much about you. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Nascour, Chief Executive of Cipher. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Nascour said with a condescending and faked polite attitude, bowing pretentiously as he did so.

"But, I'm sure none of you knew that. Well, all except for one of you." Nascour continued, looking at Looker's still horrified face.

Turning his back to the group of people, he began to ask his grunts questions.

"Did you get what you could from the facility?" The silver haired man asked the pair.

"Yes sir, everything was loaded and transported as per Ein's and your request." The first grunt said as he saluted and spoke with the highest of respect.

"We were about the make tracks when these people came out of nowhere." The second grunt informed, hoping to cover for their excuse behind not leaving the wreckage on schedule.

As the three continued to talk, Ash's blood boiled with rage. The man admitted that he had an attack made against his family, and he had to nerve to turn his back to him.

"You are done here peons. Follow me through here." Nascour commanded.

"But sir, what about the bikes?" The first grunt questioned.

"Leave them. There's no need for them now." Nascour replied, taking a step back into the portal he came from, followed by the Grunts.

As the three were leaving, Ash charged at the entrance in blind rage. While Ash did this, Looker finally snapped back to his senses, trying to call out to Ash to prevent him from doing something rash. This meant nothing however, as the portal closed before Ash could even get close to it.

"What was that? Who was that?!" Sawyer asked, helping Brock pick Ash up from the ground.

"I don't know, but those bastards got a hold of all our stuff! We need to get it back." Ash said back, brushing his chin off in anger.

As Ash and his friend's regrouped, Ash went to ask Looker, wondering why he seemed so worried about the silver haired man and was about to question his friend, only for him to be cut off by Anabel, who set her hand gently on Ash's shoulder and shook her head.

"Leave it for now." The purple haired woman said, trying to calm Ash and make sure no tension was risen within their group, before she informed her friends. "I found something interesting I think you all might want to see."

As everyone turned and walked towards her and the hover bikes, she stood beside, they gathered around as she brandished something in her hand.

"It looks like a data pad. I think we might have a lead on what these guys are up to." Anabel said to the five men, which Ash was pleased to hear, getting a clue as to who his enemies were and what they desired.

Opening the high tech device at the touch of a button, the screen then expanded, showing an image and coordinates to their location.

"I think we may have just found ourselves a map." Alain said, looking over Anabel's shoulder, carefully examining the map and doing his best to memorize what he saw, just in case they were to be seperated or lost their first clue.

"Looks like it." Anabel said, further examining the device. "Hmmm, it says here that we're currently located in the Albaridge Desert. And it looks like the closest town to us is this place called Phenec City, just a few miles East of us."

"I think that was the city I scoped out aboard Noivern. It seems like the best place to look for answers." Ash added, approving of the new destination.

"Then that's where we go I suppose." Brock said in added acceptance.

"Agreed, so let's head off now before we burn more daylight." Alain said, as he and the rest of the group made their way to their flying Pokémon, barring Looker.

"Hold on." Looker said, causing his compatriots to halt instantly. "There's something I need to share with you people."

"Finally gonna clue us in on what happened there between you and that man, Looker? Fill us in on all of it why don't you?" Ash asked with his patience beginning to run thin, but with his family on the line, the others could understand Ash's change in attitude.

"I can't tell you all of it, but the populace of this Region... Well, let's just say they aren't too keen to see outsiders in their Region. We'll go into Phenec City on foot." Looker said, to the surprise of everyone in the group.

"And why's that?" Brock asked the officer.

"It's because the normal citizens of Phenec City don't own Pokémon. An incident that happened years ago saw to that. The only ones on this island who own Pokémon are Cipher and the few people who don't see eye to eye against their dictatorial rule over this land." Looker explained in reply.

"What? Are you saying that these Cipher guys own this Region? Why and how is that possible?!" Sawyer asked the older man in a shocked tone.

"I won't say anymore. Not now. All I can ask of you now is to keep a low profile and not use your Pokémon unless it's an absolute last resort." Looker said in reply, firmly forbidding himself from saying any more than he already had.

"Well, Phenec City isn't for another few miles. How do you expect us to get there?!" Ash said dejectedly, recalling his Noivern as he did so.

"Well, those goons were kind enough to leave their bikes here. We can just ride these big suckers, three of us on each bike." Anabel said, offering the idea as she rested her arm on the hovering engine of one of the bikes.

"I'll go with Ash." She then offered, approaching the raven haired Trainer and wrapping her arms around him from behind, which Ash believed was Anabel just being friendly.

"No, we can't have only two people go in, it's too dangerous." Looker said firmly.

"Well, it's gonna be one hell of a squeeze if we all ride on them. How about two of us stay here and the Pyramid and search for clues while the rest go into town?" Sawyer proposed to the group.

"You know, that might just work." Looker said, impressed by the young man's resourcefulness and ability to make a proper compromise.

"I'm gonna go for sure. I said I'd be with you the whole time we were here, and I'm sticking to that promise." Looker added, turning towards Ash.

"Alright then, who else wants to join us?" Ash asked the crew.

"I think Anabel should come along. Her psychic abilities might allow us to find more clues that we cannot obtain ourselves." Looker offered, which made the psychic smile at the trust the others had within her.

"I agree. Alright then, How about Brock comes with us then, if I might offer. His Chansey he has with him is our only Pokémon of group that has the ability to heal injuries, that is unless we reach a Pokémon center." Ash said to the officer.

"Yeah, good luck finding one of those out here..." Looker said under his breath, even though he was clearly audible.

"What do you mean by that?" Ash asked.

"You'll find that out soon enough. Now, let's find out how these damn things work." Looker said, changing the subject as he began to examine one of the strange transports.

"While you guys do that, Alain and I will take another look in the Battle Pyramid, see if those Grunts left any clues as to what they were looking for." Sawyer offered.

"Thanks man, we're counting on you." Ash said with a thumbs up to his former pupil.

After the rest of the group returned their Pokémon back to their balls, Alain and Sawyer ventured into the wreckage of the battle facility, while Ash and the others began to look at the set of hover bikes. Ash hopped onto the pilot seat, feeling the handles. As he did so, the engines revved up, the front block hovering off the ground slightly higher than normal.

Looking to his friends with a proud smile of accomplishment, now holding out a hand to Anabel to help her onto the back seat. Blushing at the offer, Anabel took her old crush's hand, hoisting herself onto the back seat, wrapping her arms around his chest, where she continued to blush and even nuzzled her head against Ash's back, which the raven haired Trainer failed to notice.

As Looker took charge of the second bike, Brock nervously wrapped his arms around the older man's chest, the two of them clearly embarrassed at the act. As Looker fired the engines, the group of four began to ride out in the desert, riding until they found the main highway that lead to Phenec City.

It didn't take long for the group to arrive at Phenec City, taking the group only a half hour to reach their destination due to the sheer speed of the bikes, with Anabel enjoying every minute of the ride with her crush.

Parking on the outskirts of the City, Ash and company disembarked on their walk to the settlement, and what they saw was a site to behold. The entire City was teeming with water, the purest looking water Ash might have ever seen flowed through the streets in aqueducts, with bridges closing the gaps to allow safe passage over them.

"This place looks so beautiful..." Anabel said in wonder.

"Yeah, it's like an oasis here." Brock said, equally as astonished.

"Get a grip people. If we have a Magikarp out of the water look on our faces, we'll be made for sure." Looker said with a stern scowl. "Just let me do any talking when it comes to it."

"Why so bitter, Looker? What is it about this place that has got you so riled up?" Ash asked the man.

"Nothing, let's just go to the diner over there and get a bite to eat. You buy something to drink, and Anabel and I will chat up the locals." Looker said, pointing to a local across the street from them.

It was a pleasant little diner, with an outdoor eating area with a roof that, like everything else in the town, seemed to be made of sandstone. After sitting down at a table, Ash and Brock looked at the menu, wondering what kind of food the natives of the region ate. After order a meal simply named 'The Phenec Desert Salad Special', Ash and Brock dug into their meal while Anabel and Looker went to the bar indoors.

"This place is quite beautiful..." Brock sighed, sipping on a cool glass of water.

"It sure is, don't know why Looker's so upset about this place." Ash added to his friend, setting his fork aside.

"You guys from Agate Village or something?" A young man asked the two from his seat in the back of the dining area.

Hearing the man's voice being directed at them, the two turned in hesitation to eye who just spoke. It was a man in a dark blue trench coat, green eyes, grey hair and a set of steel grey goggles. The man had his feet kicked up onto his table, but after seeing the two he spoke to turn to face him, he stood up and approached them.

"No, that isn't it, is it? You know, I heard from some people there was a giant object that came crashing down a few miles outside of town. Apparently a bunch of outsiders were seen at the site. You wouldn't happen to have seen those guys, did ya?" The man continued to joke tauntingly, placing his hands on the two Trainer's table.

Sensing there was about to be trouble, Ash motioned for his Pokeball, only for the action to be caught by the man, who reached to grab Ash's arm in defense, putting a finger to his mouth to motion for his silence.

"There's no need for that there. In fact, you might like to hear me out. Seek out Pyrite Town. I get the feeling we could help each other out. Not just anyone can get a hold of Cipher class Cyber Bikes." The man said, releasing Ash's arm.

Without a word from Ash and Brock, the man simply turned around and walked away, slipping on his goggles and making his way out of town. The two remained frozen in place, wondering who that man possibly was or what he was after. Due to the man knowing their identity, Ash and Brock were conflicted if they should give chase to get some answer.

These thoughts were cut short however, as Anabel and Looker returned to the duo with a set of cold beers in hand.

"What's up you two? You look like you saw a ghost." Anabel said, looking at the pair and their still shocked faces.

"What happened?" Looker asked, sitting down at the table, wondering what had occured during their absence.

"Somebody knows who we are. A man just approached us and told us he knew about the Battle Pyramid crashing in the desert." Brock said, trying to regain his composure.

"He said something about us meeting in a place called Pyrite Town, something about us helping him out with something. He saw us ride into Phenec too. Apparently the bikes we got off of those Cipher Grunts are called Cyber Bikes and not too many people can get a hold of them, not the ones Cipher uses anyways." Ash added, gaining control over his breathing once more.

"This sounds like trouble. I already don't like it." Looker said, stroking his chin with one hand while breaking out a notebook in the other. "Give me a description of the man."

After giving Looker the details he needed, the policeman closed his book and then looked into the thoroughfare outside the area. As the day grew longer, more and more civilians began moving about.

"We shouldn't stay here for too long. Ash, you and I will gather supplies and give the area a final look around. Brock and Anabel, you two head back to the others. If that man you spoke of knew about us, he might know we left behind two people. I don't want Alain and Sawyer to be ambushed if the man is a threat." Looker said firmly.

"Yeah, got ya." Anabel replied in agreement, taking off back to the bikes, with Brock on her heels.

"Come on, let's go check the store out." Looker said, beckoning Ash to join him after the two watched their friends leave their sight, before the two then walked across the street to the City vendor. The store had a wide selection of human oriented supplies, but no Pokémon supplies were to be seen. Grabbing some canned human food to supplement the lack of Pokémon food he had, Ash used what little money Looker had left on him to buy what they could. Grabbing gallons of water, Ash began to ask the shopkeeper questions.

"Say, where does the City get all the water from anyways?" Ash asked.

"You new in town or something, boy? One of them plucky Agate Village folks? Phenec City gets all its water from an underground spring beneath the desert. Desert sand is sterile and can make for a decent filter against all kinds of pollutants you'd get from water elsewhere." The cranky middle aged man explained to him from behind the counter.

"There's that name again. Where is this Agate Village?" Ash continued to ask the man.

As Ash was starting to get raised eyebrows from the man tending the shop, Looker stepped in to cover for Ash.

"I'm sorry about my friend here, he's had a bad case of heat stroke from going through that hot desert, and he simply is using what little consciousness he's got left to make sure he gets some of the best water you got." Looker said desperately, hoping the man would buy his lie.

The man seemed hesitant to buy his story, only seemingly grunting in indifference in response. Upon believing they were in the clear, the two paid for their goods and rushed out the door, only for the man to pick up his phone a dial a number once the two were out of sight.

Exiting the store, Looker gave Ash an angry stare, about to tell him to avoid drawing even more attention to himself. Before he could do this however, several Cipher grunts now started to approach the store. Try to look as inconspicuous as possible, Ash and Looker made their way further into the city. As more and more guards began to fill the street, Looker eyed a large building, beckoning Ash to join him.

"Through here." Looker said reluctantly, knowing what the building's purpose was but wanting to avoid the current issue at the moment.

Trusting his ally, Ash followed Looker through a set of electronic double doors, the two sliding open as they entered, closing behind them to cover their escape. Thinking of a plan for the two to lay low for a while, Looker pulled Ash into a large stand area. The building was a colosseum, with several viewers watching the entertainment, cheering as they did.

Sitting the pair down in some seats, Ash finally got to get a look of what was going on. It was a Pokemon Battle between two Trainers, one with a Scyther and the other with a Heatmor. The battle seemed to be reaching its climax, and as it did, Ash wondered what Looker meant when he said normal Trainers didn't own Pokemon in Orre.

"Heatmor, use Fire Lash!" The Trainer in red commaded as his Pokemon obeyed, its red hot tongue glowing bright with fire, extending into a whip that it shot at its enemy.

"Scyther, dodge it and use Slash!" The man in the blue commanded, his Pokemon using its wings to jump and fly from the fiery attack, avoiding the flames, before Scyther swung into Heatmor with a glancing blow, with Heatmor collapsing in defeat.

And as Ash was about to cheer at the Battle, he was silenced when he realized something horrible.

"Scyther is the winner, it must now finish off its opponent to proceed." The referee said on the sidelines.

"Finish off?!" Ash questioned under his breath, horrified and what that might mean.

"Ash, hold on. Whatever happens, you must not interfere. If you do now, we're gonna be made out." Looker said with a look of panic on his face.

He knew bringing Ash to see this was a bad idea, but given the options at hand before, he had no choice. As the two looked on in horror, the Bug/Flying type Pokemon walked over to the still unconscious Heatmor, cutting its throat with its bladed arms. As the Pokemon began to bleed out, Ash stood in horror, his eyes almost filling with tears as it did.

"What do they think they're doing?!" Ash asked Looker, his hands shaking in rage. "You knew this was gonna happen, didn't you?!"

Not even having the stomach to respond, Looker remained silent, watching the life leave the Fire-type's body permanently. As the stadium cleared out, Ash and Looker remained. The two sat their in silence, not one of them speaking up to each other at all.

A couple hours passed and Looker finally got up, holding out his hand to help Ash up

"Come on, I'll explain this to you and the others when we get back to them." He offered. Standing up, yet not accepting his friend's hand, Ash simply gathered the supplies the two bought and made his way out of the stadium. As the two left the City, not a word was uttered, not a sound, nothing.


	7. Striking A Deal

After Ash and Looker returned to camp, they realized everyone was there, unharmed and awaiting the return of their friends. After parking the bike, Ash got down to sit under the Pyramid's shade silently, trying to make heads or tails of what he witnessed. Noticing his somber attitude, everyone gathered around him, only for Looker to catch their attention next.

"All of you, listen up. I've something very important to say to all of you." Looker said, gaining the attention of everyone. "I need to tell you why this place is such a touchy subject for me."

"Well go on and tell us. Any info you have can help us locate the people who wanted to harm Ash's family." Alain said, hoping that the man finally would withhold no more truths from the group.

"The truth is that I've been to this Region before. Early in my career at Interpol, twenty years ago, my team and I were dispatched to this place to solve an illegal fighting ring circuit that cropped up. Back then, Orre was a beautiful place, nothing like it was now, or even after what we did." Looker began to say, gaining a lot more intense stares at him as he said this.

"You came to stop a fighting ring circuit? How's that different from what other Regions do with Pokémon Leagues or Gym Battles?" Brock questioned, curious about what he meant.

"It was nothing like what we consider ethical. These fights were, and still are, to the death. Ash and I witnessed such a fight before we met up with you just now." Looker said sorrowfully, the whole group choking on their words, shocked at this new unearthed truth, only looking towards Ash to think what might be going on in his mind.

"My team and I entered the Region, shortly afterward is when we met Cipher, a group of individuals who promised the people of the Region care. The Region was losing resources due to this damn Desert. Half of this Region's landmass is pure sterile sand. Nobody can grow food here, and the only clean water source for miles was where some of the Illegal fighting was being held: Phenec." Looker said, this barrage of new info almost scaring his company.

"So then, what did you do?" Sawyer asked, almost afraid of what was to happen next.

"When we met Cipher, they had incredibly technological advances. They're ability to create gadgets that would help people live on this rock bought the people's loyalty. This Region used to be a big hub for trade back in the day, but when the lands started becoming mysteriously infertile and desolate, the Regions we live in pulled out of trade deals. The Region was made completely isolated, and we did nothing to help these people." Looker said bitterly, questioning who decided that such action should be taken.

"So when these Cipher guys came into the picture, they were like Orre's saviors. So when my team went into Orre to solve an issue that expanded into Kanto and Johto, the people weren't too kind to us. We were attacked by the locals, harassed, driven off. We turned our backs on them, only to come back later and police them after we left them with bits and scraps. To say we were a public enemy would be an understatement." Looker continued, his words beginning to show remorse and sorrow with every next sentence.

"So what happened next?" Ash asked, finally raising his head from his hands.

"Cipher happened. We went into a town by the name of Pyrite, looking for the fighting circuit. What we got was an ambush led by that man we met earlier, Nascour. They dropped half of us before we could even react. My commanding officer, Officer Chou did all he could with his Arcanine to protect us from the attack, but it was no good." Looker began to say, as tears began to well up in his face.

"After a while, me and Chou were the only surviving members of our squad. We ran and ran as fast as we could, trying to save our own skins, but we were set upon by Nascour. He struck Chou in the leg with something I wasn't able to even see, and just like that, I was up against that monster alone. My Croagunk and I fought for as long as we could, but it wasn't enough. I was left on the brink of death and I lost sight of my Croagunk. I only could believe he was killed, but when I felt like I was all alone, Chou saved me. In his last moments, he gave me his Arcanine and told me to run. Run and never look back." Looker said, wiping his eyes in his jacket to dry his tears.

"I knew Chou for years in the academy. He was my mentor and inspiration, but more importantly, he was my friend. For years, I've tried to put the past behind me. I knew that if I returned here, I'd most surely die, and doing that would dishonor Chou's dying wish for me to live. And now after thinking I finally put this whole thing behind me, more people I care about are being harmed by the very people who almost killed me and killed my friends and Pokémon." Looker said, a serious and strong tone now forming in his voice.

"Perhaps I can avenge Chou by ending that bastard Nascour off, but what I intend to do first and foremost is ensure Ash's family is safe and these madmen are brought to justice. I swear on my life that I will keep this promise!" Looker said proudly, putting his left hand to his heart and gesturing to Ash with his other. "Let us save your family, Ash!"

"Yeah!" Ash said, grabbing the officer's hand with his own, a firm shake being shared between the two, putting the past behind them and determined to shaper Orre's future for the better.

And as the other's grinned at the two's interaction, Anabel turned her attention to the map, where she spoke up.

"Pyrite huh? Well then why don't we go there next?" The psychic suggested, showing the group the map as she pointed out. "After all, it's only a few miles West of us."

"Did you not just hear Looker, Anabel? What if going back there brings back bad memories?" Brock asked, concerned about the older man's mental state after having to recount the tale of such a clearly painful memory.

Upon the woman saying these things, Looker pondered his options.

"Sorry, after having to recount that memory, I don't know if I'll be composed enough to go there. To those who do go, remember that to lay low and only ever use your Pokémon if you need to." The officer stated, the others shaking their heads in understanding.

"I need to go, that's for sure. That guy Brock and I met will be expecting me at this Pyrite Town anyways." Ash said, standing up from his seat.

"Then I'm coming with you." Alain said, putting his hand on Ash's shoulder. "You might need backup here, and I'm not exactly looking to sit down and down nothing on this trip."

"Thanks Alain." Ash said, grateful for his friend's commitment to his cause. "So Sawyer, what about you? Want to come with us?"

"Actually I was hoping Sawyer would stay with us this time around. The more we swap up out groups patterns, the better. Perhaps you and Alain should go in alone." Looker suggested, taking the map from Anabel's hands and giving it to Ash.

"Makes sense I suppose. Let's get a move on Alain." Ash said, walking towards a Cyber Bike.

"Yeah..." Alain said, grabbing some water for him and Ash before they took off, leaving the rest of the group to unpack and sort through the supplies Ash and Looker bought in Phenec.

As the two began speeding off to the west, Ash began swiping through the data pad. Apparently the pad gave descriptions of the Towns and Cities that dotted the landscape. Upon reading the description of Pyrite being a town centered around casinos and gambling as well as hosting a colosseum involving blood sport. Swallowing from his nervousness, Ash put the pad in his back pocket, strengthening his grip on Alain's waist as the two drove to town.

Upon reaching their destination, Ash and Alain safely stowed away their vehicle behind a rock. As the sun began the set, the red rock canyon the town resided in grew darker. However, before Ash and Alain could comment on it, bright neon lights light up, the night sky becoming filled with many colors as the signs blazed to life.

As the two began to walk into town, Alain asked Ash a question that had been bothering him ever since Brock told him about their encounter with the man in the blue trench coat. "So Ash, how do you exactly plan to find this guy anyways? He never gave you a location or address beyond the town name itself, so how are we gonna find him?" Alain said, gently reaching to meet Ash's ear to speak, partly due to the noise and activity in the streets as well as to avoid having people listen in on them.

"Well, this town is based upon gambling. Perhaps we can maybe find him in one of these casinos." Ash said, examining which of the buildings the two would go into. "I'd say split up, but frankly I don't think that a good idea."

"Agreed wholeheartedly. Why not try that one first?" Alain suggested in reply, picking a building out at random, as the two had no other leads to go on.

"Sure thing." Ash accepted, the two now making their way to large green building.

Walking in through the doors, Ash and Alain were introduced to a wide open casino floor, with slot machines on each side of the hall and roulette and blackjack tables dotted in the center, a bar up a set of stairs, while at the very end where the bar's balcony overlooked the main hall, a stage could be seen at the very end of the building, a small musical number being sung by a woman in a red dress, accompanied by a Gardevoir and a Lopunny as the patrons of the casino looked on in enjoyment, eyeing the trio and mentally undressing them with their eyes.

"Let's hit up the bar." Ash suggested, betting the barkeep would have knowledge of the Region and all their customers.

"Didn't think you were that kind of guy, frankly." Alain said, snickering at Ash's comment.

"Shut up." Ash laughed, nudging his old friend in a joking manner. "No, what I mean is with that balcony where the bar is located, we could easily scope out our guy if he's on the casino floor.

"Good idea, Ash." Alain said, surprised at how well thought out Ash's idea was, impressed at how he already thought of a way to exploit the building's layout to spot their man as effectively as they could.

Heading up to the second floor, Ash sat down at a table looking over the balcony, while Alain fetched the two drinks, coming to sit with his friend soon after. After a while at glancing down at the people below, Ash and Alain couldn't see anyone who matched the same description as the man Ash met in Phenec did. After thinking the first building was a bust, the two began to get up, but as soon as they did, a young woman approached them.

She was a small brunette haired girl, with two distinct pig tails forming at the ends. She was dressed in a white shirt and short jeans. Her eyes were a deep blue, and it was almost as if the girl was peering into their souls. Trying to not make any rash moves, Ash tried to negotiate his way out of a possibly dangerous confrontation.

"Sorry miss, we were just heading out." Ash said, scratching his head to get into a character.

"You boys seem to be looking for something. What might you need help with?" The girl asked the two in a friendly tone.

"We were just looking for someone, but apparently he's not here." Ash said, making his way to the stairs, only for the girl's arm to block his escape.

"Hmm. So you're the two he spoke of? You don't look like much." The girl exclaimed rudely.

"Follow me, and you'll find who you're looking for. Break from the path or try to run, and you'll pay the price." The girl continued, a threat being issued to the two should they walk away.

"Ah, so he is here then. And here I was beginning to think I wouldn't get an audience." Ash replied in a sassy tone, returning the girl's rude manners back. "Very well then, lead the way."

Leading the pair out of the building, the girl took the two with them closely down the long road, heading North-West for a while. As the neon lights of the casino began to dim behind them, the girl led Ash and Alain to an incredibly disheveled building, one that seemed to be an old school house. Walking around the side, Ash looked around the building, noticing the countless broken and boarded up windows. Walking to the back of the school, there stood a lone man in a blue hood and grey pants.

As the trio made their way to him, the girl turned to the two she escorted, issuing a command.

"We don't trust you yet, so we're taking your Pokémon for now." The girl said, only to notice her words may have been cause for concern as the two men got in fighting positions. "Relax. What I meant to say was we're taking them from you for now. We barely know you people, and if the boss is to meet you, you have to turn over your Pokémon. You'll get them back after we're done with business."

Ash and Alain then looked at each other, wondering if such a course of action was for the best. Realizing they were out of options and this was their best lead in the Region, the two agreed, forfeiting their Pokémon. Leaving nothing to chance, the girl then commanded her large companion to search them.

Upon realizing the two truly relinquished their Pokémon, The girl placed their Pokéballs in a small crate, holding it while her friend led them to a large dumpster. Seemingly too heavy to move, Ash and Alain were shocked to see that the dumpster was a fake. As the large man moved the large metal object, a concealed cellar door hatch was revealed. Handing the crate off the the man in her company, the woman took a key from her pocket and unlatched the lock, allowing the entrance to slide open.

With the girl signalling that Ash and Alain go first, the four entering the room. It was quite spacious for a secret room. Though it seemed damp and dingy, a few lit candles allowed the space to be illuminated. The were a few other people sitting and laying down in this room, some simply sleeping while others eyed the suspicious new strangers in their sanctum. Proceeding further down the hall, the four encountered a secure metal door.

After waving her companion to stand out front of the door, the woman then led Ash and Alain into the room, where a single lamp lit the room. There was a rather small, yet effective desk centered in the room while the man Ash met in Phenec sat behind it. As the door shut behind them, the man smiled as his companion walked towards him, placing the crate of Pokéballs on his desk.

"Ah, I'm so glad my friend here was able to find you." The man chuckled, kicking his feet up on the desk after examining the contents of the crate. "I see you came here boy, but what about your other friend?"

"I'm afraid he's busy elsewhere. What is all this about? Who are you? You don't seem to be a member of Cipher, so what are you after. You said something about helping each other out." Ash said, asking the man many questions, only for the man to chuckle and sit back up.

"My name is Wes, and my group and I are called Snagem. It's a name our old leader took from an old gang who use to ride around Orre. Before Cipher went and annihilated them that is. You can call us a group of people who simply want to return Orre back to the way it was before Cipher." The man said, introducing himself and his partners. "This is where I make you an offer."

"I'm listening." Ash said, getting straight to the point.

"My crew is very small. We can only work around the patterns of Cipher goons that patrol the wastes. My group is poorly supplied, without many allies, and the few that I have working with me are beginning to lose hope. A few years ago when this movement was started, we had a lot more people." Wes began to say, recounting the events of the past ten years. "I was much younger then and wasn't the leader, but I remember what happened. A great many of us were captured or killed when these new guys, Team Rocket I think they called themselves, started coming in droves and attacking any who dared rebel against Cipher."

As Ash and Alain looked to each other at the mention of Team Rocket, Wes continued his story.

"This increased activity has ever since made it hard for our group. Nowadays, anyone who doesn't openly support Cipher's regime gets taken away and they're never seen again. With all of this happening, you'd think it'd be the end for my group, but oh no. Just when I myself began to give up hope, some more new strangers show up in a giant floating Pyramid and do battle with Cipher. Not only did you fight them, but you beat them back!"

Ash and Alain looked to him, wondering how he'd know all this, only for him to continue to speak.

"That's right, I saw everything. I saw you fight Cipher, I saw you enter Phenec, and I ever saw that Cipher skiff that made off with all your stuff. Let me make a deal with you. I'll give you the location of that stuff my scouts tracked down in exchange for you doing a little favor for me. A test of faith, if you will. My men need medical supplies, for both themselves and their Pokémon. What I need you to do is do a little 'supply run' to a Cipher station right here in town, and return all the medical goods you find to me without bringing any of those goons back with you."

"How do you intend we do that?" Alain asked the man, imagining such a task would prove impossible.

"Steal a skiff after loading it up, then scuttle the thing. Most Cipher vehicles tend to have trackers in them, so you'll either need to remove it, a quite tricky task or destroy the whole vehicle." Wes said in reply, the words giving Ash and Alain a sense of dread, realizing that the bike they rode in on could have a trace in it as well.

"Something the matter?" Wes asked the two, taking note of their sunken faces.

"Alain, let me go try to see if I can find that tracer on our bike. See if you can help this guy out here." Ash said hastily.

"And where do you think you might be going?" Wes asked, where he then pointed out. "We have your Pokémon, so you go by our rules here. Your bike will be fine. You need to focus on the matter at hand."

"Believe me, if I find you're more a hindrance to us than help, then I'll just rat you and your pals out to Cipher, if it means protecting my own. Now do we have a deal?" Wes continued, reaching out a hand to offer to shake Ash's own.

"Ash, what do we do here?" Alain asked, unsure of what their next move should be, while Ash sighed in defeat.

"Fine..." Ash said, accepting the position he was in while shaking the man's hand.

"Splendid!" Wes replied in an oddly upbeat fashion. "Now, for obvious reasons, I won't leave you with all your Pokémon. I will allow you one Pokéball to take with you. That ensures that you'll return rather than making off with the medicine and finding out about your missing stuff on your own."

"I'll take my Glalie then." Ash said, pulling out a Pokéball that contained the Ice-type Pokémon.

"Wait Ash, don't you want...?" Alain began to question, only for Ash to give him a look of confidence.

"Very well than, I'll take my Bisharp." Alain said, grabbing one of his own Pokéballs from the crate.

"How will we be sure if you'll be gone with our other Pokémon or something when we return? How are we to know you won't simply steal them?" Alain asked the pair.

"You frankly don't know, but we have very few bases left. With how many we got housed here, we all wouldn't be able to leave anyways, even under the cover of night." The girl replied snarkly to the black haired Trainer.

"Who might that girl be anyways? She's got quite a mouth on her." Ash said, pointing at the girl, hoping his words towards her gave her a hint that he attitude was unwarrent.

"Oh, her? She's my assistant and second in command. Rui, try to be nicer to our guests now." Wes said to the girl, who gave off an annoyed huff.

"Yes sir." Rui replied reluctantly, still skeptical of the two strangers who were tasked with getting crucial supplies.

As Rui lead the two out of the room, leaving the crate behind, Ash turned to look back as they left. The three then made their way out of the cellar and back towards the glowing lights of the town. Reaching a hill overlooking the town, Rui handed the two a pair of night vision binoculars.

"You see that building over there, the one with the gate in the East? That's the compound you'll be hitting. Some of our scouts have found a way in through a drainage outlet, but it is always flowing with water. You'll have to improvise to get it. When you get out, ride South. The Boss will be waiting for you there with details on your stuff and your Pokémon. Are we clear?" Rui asked the two swifty, ending their informal briefing.

"Loud and clear, girl." Ash said, continuing to jab at the girl for her sour attitude.

"Hmph." Rui replied, snatching her binoculars from Ash's hand and walking off into the darkness.

Once the girl left, Alain finally spoke up, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"So can you care to explain why you left Greninja behind? His stealth skills would be a great help here!" Alain questioned, wondering if the choice Ash made was a sound one.

"I left Greninja with them for a reason. Greninja has shown me times before he has consciousness of his his surroundings inside his Pokéball. I'm using my mental link with him to ensure that our Pokémon aren't stolen from us. Don't worry, man, I've got this covered." Ash said in reply, hoping that mentioning that little detail would ease Alain's mind. "Besides, given the info we just received, it may have just been a good thing to bring Glalie along."

Dipping into the crack where the drain flowed, Ash and Alain got into position where the drain pipe flooded out. The pipe entrance was blocked by a large metal grate preventing Ash and Alain from passing through.

"Bisharp, use Night Slash quietly on the bars." Alain whispered, calling out his Pokémon, where the Dark/Steel-type Pokémon appeared and followed the command, carving through the metal like butter, grabbing the grate to make sure it didn't fall and make a loud noise.

"Good, now Glalie, it's your turn. Fly into the pipe and use Freeze Dry on the water." Ash followed up, tossing his Pokéball into the air, where he called upon the imposing Ice-type, who flew into the pipe.

Watching for a moment, Alain was wondering what Glalie was doing, noticing as it was simply floated about. But just as he was about to ask was was going on, he realized the temperature around them became fridged, while Glalie's body exuded a visible mist.

As it dispersed in the pipes, the water around Glalie froze up almost immediately, thus allowing a path where Ash and Alain could simply slide through the man sized pipe with ease. Upon going further down the pipe, the two approached a sliding hatch. Opening the hatch just slightly, Ash saw the coast was clear, signaling for Glalie, Bisharp and Alain to commence with the entrance.

The three finally made it inside the base, just on the border of the wall, with the main gate a few dozen feet adjacent to them. Proceeding to duck behind a concrete barrier, Ash spotted a patrol of guards walking to a security booth a few feet away from them.

"Alain, we need a new place to hide." Ash whispered, only for a guard to look in their direction.

Holding his breath for a moment, Ash felt like the two had already been made. However, before the curious guard could investigate, his companions got his attention back on them.

"Why are you staring off into space for? We've got crates we need to move." A tall grunt said to his friend.

"Thought I heard something." The curious guard replied, turning completely away from Ash and Alain's position.

"Yeah, whatever. Just remember, Mr. Ein said that we need to load all this medicine and deliver them to the Desert Lab by the hour." The second man said, turning to grab a crate of medicine as the other two joined in.

As the grunts moved walked towards a hover skiff in the back, Ash began to follow them, only for Alain to catch him by the shoulder.

"This booth seems to open the gate to this fort. You stay here, and I'll get that floating vehicle readied. I'll pick you up as we leave, so let's return our Pokémon back to their Pokéballs." Alain whispered to his friend, Ash nodding his head in agreement, where the pair recalled Glalie and Bisharp back to their respective Pokéballs.

As Ash got in position, Alain trailed the trio of grunts loading medicine onto the skiff. Looking for a way he could sneak on and bail as fast as possible, he overheard more of the grunts' conversation.

"So what does Mr. Ein need so much of this stuff anyways?" The third grunt asked.

"Dunno. Apparently one of the last Shadow Projects was a major bust though. Ein needs a tons of medicine to continue his research though. Guess some of the test subjects had an 'accident'." The first grunt said, saying the statement in a disturbing matter of fact way.

As the three grunts walked away, Alain got onto the skiff, sitting in the pilot's seat. Noticing his friend was ready, Ash found the switch that opened the fort's electric doors, making his way to the exit himself.

Upon hearing the doors to the fort open, the grunts on the base, including the three who were making their way to the very same security booth turned to look. As they were beginning to piece two and two together, the trio spotted Ash bolting for the entrance.

"Hey you there! Stop at once!" The first grunt shouted, not receiving a response, which caused him to call to his allies. "Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Stop that man!"

As the three grunts ran in pursuit, Alain fired up the engines on the skiff, causing the grunts on the base to turn and look at him. Speeding off to the entrance, Alain met little resistance. One of the grunts attempted to shut the doors again, but it was too late. Alain had already made it past the barrier, stopping to pick Ash up along the way.

"Oh boy, Mr. Ein's not gonna be happy about this." The second grunt said nervously.

"You think Ein'll be pissed? I can't imagine Mr. B or that Rocket guy are gonna be much happier. Oh, they're gonna be so mad that we had a bunch of rebels break into the base." The first grunt added, sweating bullets due to their slip up.

"So... Who's gonna tell 'em?" The third grunt questioned, only for the two other goons to look at him, seeing him as their scapegoat. "Crap."

As Alain sped off with the skiff, he traveled to the position where Rui said her boss would meet up with them. As promised, Wes, Rui and several of his group members awaited them, a rather disheveled skiff of their own hovering beside them.

"Well done gentlemen! Might I say you did a splendid job doing that little gig for us?" Wes said, patting both guys on the back as he signaled his men to start offloading the goods onto their own vehicle.

"That was so easy, you could have done it yourselves. Why need our help?" Ash asked , holding out his hand to gesture for his and Alain's Pokémon back.

"Like I said, this was a test of faith, and I didn't want Cipher getting ideas where one of my bases was." Wes replied, handing the crate of the two's other Pokémon, still safe and sound in their Pokéballs.

"But you guys did well. Maybe later down the line, we can maybe help each other out some more." Wes continued, hopping on his Cyber Bike, only to stop as Alain asked with an irritated tone. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Oh yes, your stuff, how could I forget?" Wes sarcastically replied, before saying. "Last my scouts saw, a cargo skiff bearing the same id as the skiff I saw leave your Pyramid was sent off to one of those labs Cipher's got in the desert."

"I heard some of those Cipher goons saying something about sending the meds we stole from them there. What could be going on over there?" Alain asked Wes.

"Hell, if I know. All I know is that that place has got some crazy security. Behind patrol drones and Cipher peons, they got a doors that can only be opened with a Cipher admin key card. Maybe could coult track an admin down or something? Can't really give you any more leads on that, I'm afraid." Wes said, beginning to rev his engine.

But just as Ash was about to speak up, about to complain that such info was almost worthless to them, Wes beat him to the punch.

"On, and you might want to get out of here soon. My guys placed a bomb on that skiff to prevent a trail. Cipher grunts ain't geniuses, but they'll eventually figure out the stuff we steal from them is usually tagged with a marker. Might want to get rid of the tracking device on your bike too. See ya later dudes, it's been a gas." Wes said, waving to the two as the then drove off into the night, leaving Ash and Alain alone.

As the two pondered their next move, Alain signaled Ash, reminding him that they should make their way back to their bike as soon as they could. Thinking about incredibly eventful day he had, all Ash could do was think of getting some sleep.

**Meanwhile At the Cipher Lab**

"I'm sorry sir, I regret to inform you that our supplies were stolen by a group of rebels." A grunt said through a tv monitor to two men, panic filling him as he spoke to his superiors.

One of these men was Nascour himself. The other, a man wearing a pure grey doctor coat, dark green sunglasses and a head of pure brown hair, with a tuft of hair going down the side of his face.

"Unacceptable! I need that medicine for my precious babies! Oh, how will my research continue, IF YOU KEEP MESSING UP?!" The brown haired man replied erratically.

"Call yourself Ein, we'll find these rebels and quash them soon enough. Miror B has already told me some of his beat field agents are looking into the matter." Nascour said.

"IT'S NOT ENOUGH! It's not enough, it's not enough, it's not enough!" Ein blurted out, repeating the phrase over and over.

"Given Ein's 'nature', I doubt he'll be in a mood to speak further. Give a me a detailed description of the men responsible so the manhunt can go smoother." Nascour continued calmly as the scientist behind him continued to mumble and pace back and forth in the back of the room.

"Here you are, sir. Night vision cameras were fast enough to get footage of the man who was in the security booth. Sending it to you now." The grunts answered back, still nervous of possible punishment.

"That's..." Nascour began to say, noticing Ash from the footage.

Just as Nascour was about to speak, the door to the room opened behind the Chief Executive and his Chief Scientist. Darkness shrouded the man standing in the doorframe, but as he stepped in, loud metal clunking noises could be heard with one step, while the over reverberated like the sound of a dress shoe.

"Well well, what do we have here?" The man asked in a cynical and synthetic voice. "I'm glad to see that boy took our threat quite seriously.

"Indeed, my friend. It seems the boy's been quite a busy person in the last few hours." Nascour replied, looking as the man stepped into the light.

"Then the time shall soon be upon us. Soon, I shall have the revenge I desired for ten long years." Giovanni said, half of his body revealed to purely mechanical.

Looking deep into the video of Ash, Giovanni began to snicker, then laughed maniacally at what was to come.

Soon, the vengeance he had desired would be within his grasp.


	8. Encounter! The Odd Miror B

As Ash opened his eyes, he awoke the the still unfamiliar site of the barren desert of Orre. Getting off a sleeping bag Brock was fortunate enough to find in the wreckage, he joined his group of friends around a campfire.

"You slept in late." Sawyer said with a smile, as he handed Ash a bowl of Brock's traditional stew Ash grew accustomed to eating on his journeys through other Regions with his friend.

"Well, staying up for two days and nights in a row will do that to a guy." Ash replied, bags still hanging under his eyes.

Retrieving the serving of food from Sawyer's hands, Brock and Looker began to kill the fire they cooked the group's meal on. Due to the barren state of the Region, finding dry kindling was fairly easy. While Ash may have still been struggling to fully awake, a conversation Alain started with the rest of the group caught his attention instantly.

"So you know that Wes guy we told you about when we got back? He told us that our stuff was taken to one of their desert labs." Alain spoke up, catching the attention of the group.

"So the guy never specified where we might find this lab?" Anabel asked, which caused Alain to shake his head.

"No, but he did tell us we needed a key card from a Cipher Admin to unlock the main doors to the lab itself. Apparently it's under high security." Ash replied, finally finding his spark to wake fully.

"Then we need to work on finding an Admin then." Looker said, dusting off his pants upon standing up. "Do we have any leads?"

"Unfortunately, no. All I heard about is that some Cipher goons report to a man by the name of Ein." Alain said in reply.

"Hmm, I remember back in the Phenec, there were a lot of Cipher grunts patrolling around the area when Ash and I were trying to hide. That many people should surely have a man supervising them." Looker said, putting his hand to his chin to ponder.

"Sounds like that's our best lead then. To believe we're going this far out of our way just to retrieve our stolen items. Imagine how tough it's gonna be just to find Team Rocket and the head of Cipher." Brock commented, putting a lid on what was left of his stew pot as he offered. "Let me go and try and carry my weight.

"Let me come too!" Sawyer said, jumping to his feet and also offering his services. "I can't help but feel like I've been useless so far on this trip. I've just been sitting back and letting others go before me. Not today."

"Then by all means, you should go if you feel that way." Anabel replied, just before pointing out. "But let me go as well. Ash and Alain put in a lot of work last night, and Looker deserves a little more of a break himself."

"Very well then." Looker said begrudgingly, sitting down once more under the Pyramid's shade.

After fetching some water and the map from Alain, the three once more set out to Phenec City. Upon arriving at the city however, it seemed the streets were more empty that what the group saw yesterday.

"What's going on here?" Anabel whispered, observing what little foot traffic was happening in the streets, the lack of people also puzzling Brock and Sawyer.

It didn't take long for the trio to realize what was occuring, where they saw a TV monitor in the main square was airing a special event happening inside the Phenec Stadium.

*And It looks like there's gonna be another decisive victory for the outstanding Miror B!* The TV monitor buzzed as the static sound of a stadium cheering could be heard. As they cheered, Anabel looked to the stadium, signalling the others to join her.

Rushing to the Colosseum entrance, the trio watched from the overlook a Battle coming to its climax.

"Yo, Ludicolo, use Shadow Blitz, yo!" A man in a dark blue disco suit said, doing a little spin as he commanded his Pokémon to attack.

Upon its Trainer's command, the Ludicolo screamed in pain, a large purple aura flaring up as its eyes glowed with rage. Without so much as a warning beyond that, Ludicolo charged the opposing Scyther, blitzing it before it could react and dealing a ton of damage to the Bug-type, to the point the Mantis Pokémon was struck down and could barely move.

"Scyther cannot continue, Ludicolo wins. Therefore, the victory goes to Miror B!" The electronic shoutcaster screamed over the Stadium's PA system.

As the crowd cheered, the man did a funky dance, his red and white bushy afro shaking as he moved. With a swish of his yellow scarf, the man did a pose.

"Alright, Ludicolo, you know the drill yo! Do ya thang!" Miror B said with a unique cadence that couldn't be matched, where, upon its Trainer's command, Ludicolo fired off a Leech Seed attack on the already incapacitated Scyther.

And it wasn't long after that the attack was cast that the vines wrapped tightly around the Scyther's neck and crushed the Bug-type's throat, crushing the life from its body as well as draining what little it had left, killing it.

"You worthless Pokémon!" The Scyther's Trainer yelled, tossing away his now unneeded Pokéball and turning his back on the Pokémon as it lay dead on the ground. "I lost my chance to be in Cipher because of you!"

As the Stadium halls began to fill with people exiting the building, Anabel, Sawyer and Brock watched as the lifeless body of Scyther was carried away by a Machoke, grasping its leg and dragging off the body as if it was a pile of garbage.

"How horrible. How can someone do that to a Pokémon?" Sawyer questioned with a pained voice.

"So this is was what Looker meant as to what he and Ash saw." Brock said in shock, no words to add in his state of horror.

"Guys, look. That afro dude is still there." Anabel pointed out.

What the psychic woman said was true, where she, Brock and Sawyer saw Miror B still idling in the battlefield, doing odd poses and dance moves, only for two men in black suits approached the man.

"Sir, I'm afriad to tell you that shipment you had those morons in Pyrite ship out to the field lab was intercepted last night." The first man spoke up, his eyes obscured by his black glasses.

"What? Aww, man, ya fools are breaking up my mojo here. Can't you see I'm getting in groove here?!" The afro man replied nonchalantly, as if such a task was trivial. "Ya no, last night was my last time as overseer of that whack ass town anyways. Boss put me to be the major muscle in this City now. Let that Rocket cat handle the biz there now."

"Sorry sir, but Ein said he simply doesn't care, as you were still the overseer last night, and he wants someone to find the shipment of supplies. He said scouts spotted the thieves heading to the Outskirt Stand out East." The second man added, still as stone faced as the first.

"Ah, I don't got time for that, gotta practice my grooves to keep in the mood, ya dig?" Miror B replied, still unimpressed by the two's message.

"I'm just the messenger, sir. It ain't my ass if those Snagem rebels get away with stealing our supplies." The first one reminded with a defensiveness in his voice.

"Aww, you really gonna do this to me? Fine, I'll send out some peons to check it out." Miror B said, still as detached from the conversation as before.

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen, sir. Sir Nascour and Ein themselves have said quite assertively that you are to go to the site yourself." The second man spoke up, not amused by B's antics.

As this conversation continued, the first man turned his head to Anabel and the others, his obscured, yet deadly gaze seemingly fixing onto the three like a tracking lazer. As her turned his head, the three, noticing that they stood out, ducked behind the barrier they were behind, panic coursing through their minds.

"Did he see us?" Sawyer asked, his heavy breathing not helping much in the situation.

"I don't know!" Brock replied, the same fear clinging to himself.

"Hold on..." Anabel said, peering over the barrier just bearly to catch the end of the conversation.

"Alright, fine." Miror B said reluctantly, upset by the fact he had to cut his dancing routine short. "But I can't go yet. Got some business to tend to back at my office."

As Miror B left, the two men in black suits were left alone. As the second one turned to leave, he looked back at his partner, still fixed on the position the trio was.

"What's wrong?" The second man asked.

"It's nothing." The first man replied stoically, not giving a trace as to whether or not he did or didn't spot the evesdroppers.

After a moment or two passed, Anabel and the two guys with her stayed in their spots.

"Are they gone?" Sawyer asked, almost afraid of an answer.

"Yeah, they are." Anabel replied, getting sighs of relief from her two partners.

"Thanks goodness." Brock breathed as he regained composure.

"Did you two hear that? There's a place that that Miror B guy's heading to. Maybe we can ambush him there, get his key card." Anabel suggested, conjuring a plan in her mind.

"Why not just follow him around back to his base? I mean do we even know if he'd have a card on him if we let him come to us?" Sawyer asked, unsure of the idea.

"I don't want to risk a confrontation where we could be facing his goons alongside him. We don't know this guy's strength, and I prefer keeping the odds in our favor. Besides, If he doesn't have a key card when we ambush him, we'll simply hold him hostage. Then those Cipher dicks will know we're serious." Anabel replied, pitching her plan to her friends.

"That sounds like a good idea. I'm game." Brock said, but added with a seriousness. "But we have to work fast."

"Alright then." Sawyer said, caving into the two votes in favor of Anabel's idea.

Upon reaching an agreement, the three made haste to the Cyber bikes, now fully removed of their tracking devices courtesy of Looker's ingenuity and perception, where Anabel, Brock and Sawyer then made tracks East, further into the harsh terrain of the Albaridge Desert.

After driving for twenty minutes at max speed, the group came across and old diner and gas station, fashioned to look like an old steam locomotive.

"Well this is quite an interesting place." Sawyer said, in shock of the look of the diner, as well as its location.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's just go in and try to blend in. With that massive afro that dude has, we'll see him from a mile away. All we need to do is make sure he doesn't get away once we ambush him." Brock told his friends, making his way to the door.

Stepping inside the restaurant was an odd treat for the group, namely for the diner's unique aesthetic was easily the most charming place they've seen so far. The bronze and black interior gave off a steampunk vibe, and the metallic bar counter was the first thing seen as the trio stepped inside, with Anabel stepping up to the counter while Sawyer and Brock went to sit in a booth.

As Sawyer walked by, a short old man getting out of his booth stepped out, accidentally tripping on Sawyer's leg.

"Sir, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" Sawyer asked, his helpful nature showing clearly as he reached for the man to help him up.

After taking the younger man's hand, the old man stood up, straightened his ovally glasses and dusted himself off.

"It's quite alright, young man. I'm afraid my vision hasn't been the best in recent years." The elderly gentleman replied in a calm tone, squinting up at the pair of men standing. "Not everyday you get such kind young folk around these parts nowadays.

"Tell me about it. Everyone here seems like jerks." Sawyer, began to say, not realizing his words could potentially blow the group's cover.

Just as Brock was about to say something to prevent Sawyer from speaking further, the old man just chuckled and smiled. "Yeh! You say it like it is my young friend. What's your name?" The man asked him.

"Sawyer, it's a pleasure to meet you sir. What might your name be?" Sawyer said, much to the displeasure of Brock and Anabel, who was just approaching with the group's food.

"Oh please, call me Verich." The man said back with a smile. "If you and your friends ever find yourself in Gateon Port, call me up. We can have a nice cup of tea together."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Verich. Hope you have a good day!" Sawyer said with a returned smile, waving to the old man as he left the building.

After sitting down in a booth, Sawyer was about to dive into the food, only to look at the discontent in his friends' faces.

"Do you realize what you did?" Anabel said sternly. "Who knows who that guy is. Remember what Looker said? The people aren't friendly to outsiders."

"The guy seemed alright to me. Besides, how would he know we're outsiders." Sawyer replied.

"Your talk about everyone being here like jerks was that Magikarp out of the Water-type of talk we didn't want happening." Brock said with a pang of anger.

"Well when you put it like that... Sorry, I won't let it happen again." Sawyer said, apologizing for his actions.

"It's alright." Anabel assured, before saying. "Now let's get to work."

As the stakeout continued, time seemed to pass by quickly fairly quickly. After finishing their food hours ago, Anabel finally noticed from the diner window an approaching vehicle. It was a large transport craft with Miror B at the helm. After putting the brakes on his hovercraft, B hopped off the skiff, looking around the diner area as he walked.

"Aw, man, how exactly am I to find that scientist's junk anywho?" The man questioned, dancing a jig as he walked along, only to notice the Cipher class Cyber Bikes the group was using.

"Aww man, seriously? I come all the way out here, and the brass just send out a couple flunkies to do the work for me? This is so not groovy." B said, yet refusing to break from his dance routine.

As he did this, the trio emerged from the diner with haste, surrounding the man before he even noticed them.

"Who are you fools?" Miror B asked the trio.

"That's none of your business. Hand over the keycard to the Cipher field lab, and nobody has to get hurt." Anabel said, readying a Pokéball.

"Aww, not this ain't cool! I gotta deal with those lame cats, telling me to get some dumb medicine, now I got some fools trying to jump me? This ain't groovy at all." Miror B replied, only to continue his dancing routine like nothing was happening.

"Quite a strange fellow, isn't he?" Brock asked his friends, only for B the speak up once more.

"Aww, no see, that ain't right. When someone messes with me groove, I get funky on their asses. My disco ain't strange, it's the most hip-hop-happening thing in the world! I'mma bout to teach you a lesson!" B said, his demeanor suddenly changing as he threw a Pokéball into the air, where his Ludicolo emerged and took a battle-ready stance before his Trainer.

"Everyone be careful! We haven't see the full abilities of this Pokemon yet!" Brock said, reaching for a Pokéball of his own, only for Sawyer to stop him.

"No, let me. Ludicolo is half Grass-type, and one that can use Leech Seed as well. I'm the best person to face him." Sawyer said with a confident and strong stare at the opponent, where he drew his Pokéball and prepared for Battle.

"Let's go, Sceptile!" Sawyer shouted, tossing a Pokéball up into the air, where the Forest Pokémon emerged midair, cratering the sandy ground as it landed.

"Ah, so you first punk? No problemo. Ludicolo, use Teeter Dance!" Miror B commanded, dancing as he issued the command, where the Carefree Pokemon began to do an unorthodox dance that caused Sceptile to get motion sickness.

And just like that, Sceptile was confused, stumbling around to mimic the erratic movements of the move user.

"What?!" Sawyer questioned as his Pokémon fall to a subsequent attack.

"Now, use Hydro Pump!" B commanded while keeping in his groove mood.

After the command being issued, Ludicolo made a wave of its hands, bringing them together to form a torrent of water within them. After a moment to charge up, Ludicolo fired off the move, the rampaging water harshly colliding with the Grass-type, knocking it to the ground.

"He's strong. There's no way my Sceptile would be so affected by a resisted move from a standard Pokémon." Sawyer said in concern as his Sceptile got back up, his confusion being cured.

"Ah, so he's back into action, huh? Well that won't last for long, Ludicolo, use Teeter Dance again!" Miror B said, oddly surprised by the results.

"I won't let you! Sceptile, counter with Dragon Claw quickly!" Sawyer shouted to his Pokémon.

Without even needing to get his bearings, Sceptile sprang into action, blitzing the Grass/Water-type before it could even react.

"Hmm, ya got spunk, kid, but we ain't done yet." Miror B said. "Keep your distance for now Ludicolo, and attack with another Hydro Pump."

As the Ludicolo prepared another move, Sawyer nodded to his Sceptile, who braced himself from the attack. As the attack collided with Sceptile, sending the Pokémon back a few feet while the excess water splashed upon the arid, cracking ground, Anabel began to question Sawyer's choice in countering the move.

"Hey, why did you have Sceptile take that attack head on?! At that range with Sceptile's speed, you could have easily dodged!" Anabel shouted, thinking the young Trainer was making even more bad decisions today.

"I have a plan here." Sawyer simply said, only to issue Sceptile another command to rush Ludicolo with Dragon Claw.

This time however, Ludicolo was prepared, sidestepping the Forest Pokémon to avoid the attack.

"At this range, we'll end it here. Ludicolo, use Hydro Pump one more time, yo!" B commanded, striking another pose.

As Ludicolo formed the vortex of water within its hands yet again, it fired off a blast of water point blank into Sceptile's face, seemingly knocking it out.

"Ya see, ya fools? This is what happens when you mess with the marvelous Miror B. You cats are just not groovey enough to match me, now Ludicolo, let's finish this off with a Shadow...Blitz?" Miror B began to say, only to look in confusion as Sceptile stood back up.

"What?! How's that for uncool? Why you still bothering to get up yo?!" B said in astonishment, breaking from his dancing at the site of Sceptile's body rising up.

"Now it's time to turn the time of battle back in our favor. Sceptile, use Grassy Terrain!" Sawyer yelled out.

Ripping a seed from off its back, Sceptile jammed it into the ground, where a fresh, fertile patch of grass covered the immediate area.

"What?! How can you use that move in an area so desolate? There's no way a move like that could be sustained!" B began questioning in a fluster, his entire chill character crumbling at the site of the desert turning into a lush prairie.

"I have to thank you for that one. After all, it was all that water from your Hydro Pumps. I made sure Sceptile took enough of those for the traces of water left from the attack to make contact with the ground. That left enough moisture in the ground to allow plants and grass to grow." Sawyer said in reply, smuggly explaining his plan, both to his opponent and his allies.

"Quite a move you had planed there." Brock said, impressed by the studious Trainer's intuition, now seeing he and Sceptile made a few sacrifices to allow their plan to come to fruition.

"Oh, I'm just getting started. With the ground now fertile, my Grass moves can now hit with more force. Sceptile, let him have a Frenzy Plant!" Sawyer shouted, where upon his Trainer's command, Sceptile rammed both its arms into the earth. After not even a brief moment, giant vines began digging up from under the ground, slamming into the opposing Ludicolo, knocking it out near instantly.

"What!? This is whack, I gotta get outta here! So not groovey!" B began to say, making his way back to his hovercraft, only for a creeping vine to grab him by the ankle, keeping him suspended in the air upside down.

"We're not gonna let you get away!" Brock said, stepping in between Miror B's hanging body and his hover skiff, ensuring that all escape routes were blocked. "Now, where's that keycard to this Cipher lab?"

"You punks are REALLY messing with my groove now! Fine, take the damn card man. Boss ain't gonna like me failing in a fight anyways, nevermind giving you the card." B replied, reaching into his pocket and dropping the card into the grass beneath him.

"Looks like Grassy Terrain will give in soon. The Frenzy Plant will fade in the arid desert, so let's get out of here before it wears off." Sawyer said, grabbing the keycard and making way to the parked Cyber Bikes.

"Brock, check his skiff for trackers and let's bail." Anabel said, following Sawyer to the bikes.

"Right!" Brock said hesitantly, trying to recall the instructions Looker showed the group when he removed the trackers from the Cyber Bikes the previous night.

After clumsily fiddling around, finding and destroying the tracker a moment after, the three rode off back East toward the Battle Pyramid. As the Grassy Terrain faded, the Frenzy Plant suspending B shriveled up, dropping the disco dancer on his head.

"Good thing I got this sweet afro, or that might have been really not groovey." B said, dusting the sand and dirt out of his hair.

As he did this, a shadowy figure approached him.

"So they took the keycard, huh?" The man said.

"Oh, its you. You saw that, huh? What does it matter anyhow? I lost to them anyways. So what now, Boss? You gonna make an example of me or something?" Miror B said, waving off his Boss's comment, his pride all but shattered.

"On the contrary, I was hoping that would happen. The little group of outsiders is becoming more and more bold with every encounter. Perhaps our mutual friends and I can use that to our advantage." Nascour said, with a grin, emerging from the shade of the Diner.

"So why didn't you want to get involved anyways?" B asked the grey haired man.

"I was meeting with someone here moments before before I saw those three coming here. Wanted to play the cards right." Nascour replied plainly.

"You? Meeting someone here in this barren place? Who would ever even come all the way out here?" B said, completely unsure of what his superior meant.

"Yes... Who indeed...?" Nascour said without elaborating.

As the two looked further off into the East, Nascour turned around as a dark purple portal opened behind them.

"Come along, B. We have so much more work to do." The Cipher Executive said, beckoning his underling to join him as they walked through the hole, having big plans and needed all the pieces in place to pull it off.

**Meanwhile, back at the Battle Pyramid**

After leaving tracks behind the Diner, Anabel, Sawyer and Brock returned back to the Battle Pyramid, greeting their friends upon their return.

"How did it go?" Looker said, resting in the shade with the others as Ash's Glalie provided the trio frigid air to keep cool.

"Good enough. Sawyer might have almost blown out cover to some random old guy, but I think we should be fine." Anabel said, still showing some frustration over Sawyer's actions.

"But he did defeat a rather odd Cipher admin as well. Got us this key card to that lab too." Brock added, hoping that Anabel didn't make him seem a complete hindrance on the trip.

"Really? That's great! Now with that skiff you brought back too, we have something to load our stuff on when we get it back." Ash said, happily, finally glad they could get a move on.

"First off, we need to know where this lab is located in this desert. It doesn't seem to be listed anywhere on the map we took anyways." Alain began to say.

"And we'll need to find out why they took such basic items to a lab. It's strange." Looker added, pondering.

"Well, we did see these guys in suits talking to the admin we fought. They told him that the medical supplies Ash and Alain stole never made it to their destination. If they had to inform him of such a thing in Phenec, that must mean the medicine doesn't go through that City." Sawyer theorized, giving the others pause for thought.

"Then that must mean the lab might be in between Phenec and Pyrite!" Looker said, putting the pieces together.

"Makes sense. There is a lot of ground to cover though, and we made beelines straight for Pyrite and Phenec. Perhaps the lab is somewhere South of us." Ash said, beginning to think of an idea.

"Well, if that's our best lead, then let's check it out. With this new skiff you three brought back for us, this means we all can go this time." Looker said, leaving no room for reluctance and boarding the skiff. "The sooner we go, the better chances we'll have at getting an advantage over these punks."

"Right." Ash said, agreeing with his Officer friend, hopping aboard a Cyber Bike with Anabal, while Brock and Sawyer rode on the other.

After Alain took the drivers seat on the skiff with his familiarity with the kind of vehicle after his adventure last night, the group of six set off into the South, with hopes that they'll reach Cipher's lab and finally get deeper into their quest to stop the diabolical team and Giovanni once and for all.


End file.
